Daughter of the Wind OLD
by Dinogrrl
Summary: NOW POSTING AN UPDATED VERSION. Please go there for the new story.
1. Just a Routine Mission

Finally! Welcome to my fanfic-epic. Expect many OCs, the return of some old favorites, and much psychotic fun! Or not. :E The first draft of this story is like 113 pages long in Word, and the second draft is getting even longer. I have trouble writing short stories.

This is a slightly AU fic, but I have tried to otherwise stay true to the original setting and character personalities. It is set about six years after the Second Dragon Campaign.

Um...oh yeah, the wolf character belongs to my sister, and is used with her permission (I think... XD).

So...thanks to the people who offered to read the first draft for me. Sorry the first chapter is a bit short, butI hope you enjoy it!

-----

_And this was so close to being an uneventful trip, too_. Coen slowly trudged through the forest. Six months of nothing, or almost nothing--there had been a few incidents of the rogue Sandorans appearing, but they had left again without disturbing the people. And here, the day before leaving for Bale, trouble. Supplies had been disappearing from the town for a while, although it was only recently that the knights themselves reported being bothered by the mysterious thief. And since Coen had nothing better to do this particular evening, he had decided to put a stop to the nonsense.

Thieves caused trouble from time to time in the western forests of Serdio, although they could generally be scared away by town guards. This individual, though, was not even afraid of the king's knights, making off with whole day packs that included not only food, but medicines, equipment to make minor repairs to clothing and armor, and sometimes weapons, or even dangerous substances such as the highly combustible mixes of magic and chemistry. Things dangerous and unpredictable enough even in the hands of someone trained to use them.

Coen frowned to himself. He would not like having to explain a village damaged by a burnout or black rain. _That would do nothing to help me..._

He froze when he stood. Just ahead, he could hear something moving around on the forest floor. A soft clink of vials rolling into each other sounded through the trees. Coen winced, half-expecting his life to end right then in a burst of white-hot flames. But the glasses did not break. Carefully, he shifted forward for a better look.

_So this is the thief, huh?_

A rust-furred wolf was pushing around one of the missing day packs, its face buried inside as it tried to dig out something down near the bottom. A trail of scattered items covered the ground.

_Well thanks for giving me a clean-up job, too._ Coen narrowed his eyes, his right hand gripping his sword's hilt tightly, slowly pulling it free of its sheath.

The wolf's head shot up, pointed ears turning this way and that. Coen paused, sword half-free. He had never fought a wolf before; the creatures tended to keep to themselves. But he would kill the beast if that would stop the disappearance of the town's--and the knights'--supplies.

The wolf knew something was happening. It was still looking around, listening for trouble, holding its long tail in a stiff curl as it concentrated.

Coen shifted his weight slightly, trying to ease muscles that twinged as he tried to hold his position.

Something beneath his boot cracked.

Immediately the wolf turned its attention to him, its pale purple eyes boring into him.

_Damn it, now I get too work twice as hard..._

The animal was off like an arrow, dodging trees and leaping over underbrush as it bolted for safety, its stolen prize forgotten. Coen leapt forward, attempting to slice the wolf's hind legs with the tip of his sword. His reach was not enough to make up for the distance the wolf had already covered. The knight shifted his sword, turning it so it pointed backwards to balance himself as he chased after the wolf. He could catch glimpses of the reddish fur as they raced through the forest, but the noisy escape the wolf made was easier to follow.

Rushing up a bare slope, the wolf made a scrambling dive for the safety of a hole in the ground beneath the thick underbrush at the top. For a moment, Coen thought he would lose the beast for sure...but then it stopped, head, neck, and one leg in the hole, the rest of its body exposed. The escape route was too small for the wolf. It was stuck. Frantically the wolf's paws scrabbled at the ground, trying to back out of the hole, but to no avail.

Coen smirked slightly to himself, swinging his sword forward again as he hurried up the slope to meet the creature. _Thought you were too smart for me, huh?_

The wolf struggled, letting out a piercing whine that echoed around the forest.

_I have you._

He had no warning. A roar from beyond the wolf thundered through the air, and then a golden creature was sailing from the top of the hill, in a pounce intended to connection with the knight. The next thing Coen remembered was a sharp pain in the back of his head, and the sensation of flipping over a few times. Then he realized he was at the bottom of the hill, laying on his back. Sharp claws dug into the light leather armor that covered his chest, pressing him into the ground. The hot breath of a snarling animal hit his face. For a brief moment he forced himself to open his eyes...and found himself staring up into a set of toothy jaws with knife-like fangs opened to engulf his head.


	2. She Lives

Woo okay then. From a short chapter to a long one XD. Hopefully this isn't too much thrown at you at once. Just tell me if it is and I'll make sure not to do it again the the future :.

Don't have much to say about this chapter. It explains some stuff about the main characters though. So have at it!

-----

Not even thinking, Coen swung his right arm around. The hilt of his sword connected with the beast's skull; the creature gave a dull growl and fell over. Coen quickly jumped up to defend himself, and soon regretted his fast movement as his head spun. But his attacker was still recovering from its own headache, giving him enough time to steady himself.

The animal was feline, certainly, judging from the lithe body and long, narrow tail, although Coen couldn't recall any large cat species that lived in Serdio. In fact, he had a hard time thinking of any kind of large cat native to Endiness. Still, biology was not his area...

The cat had recovered and feigned a lunge at him. Coen held it at bay with the point of his sword, and the two backed apart to size one another up. The man-sized feline crouched, tail lashing back and forth, ears turned back into the blue-gray mane along the back of its neck.

Coen blinked at the cat. _I...I know that color...blue mane on a gold cat..._

It was attacking again, and as Coen blocked the hooked claws with his blade, he realized that this was no animal he was attacking. No animal wore clothing, even as little as this cat had on.

The cat's hands flexed around the sword, avoiding the sharp edge. The head snapped forward, teeth flashing as the creature tried to bite Coen's face. The knight responded by jerking his sword upwards just far enough to send the message that he could easily slice the cat's throat if he just moved the sword a little higher...

Mane ruffled in anger, the feline withdrew, still pressing against the sword, pushing Coen backwards. Bright green cat eyes glared at the young man from within a mask of blue-gray fur.

_No...it can't be her...it can't..._

Distracted by this possible revelation, the cat managed to push Coen back to the ground. He winced as the lion-like creature leaned its full weight onto him, pressing the flat of his sword against his chest, three broad, clawed paws against his torso, pinning him to the ground. With little room to expand, his lungs struggled to draw air, and his vision began to spot black. He could feel the feline's fine whiskers against his face, the warm breath carried by a low growl.

_I'm going to die...I'm going to die..._

The cat seemed to be waiting. Waiting for Coen to realize exact how angry it was before it delivered a final blow. Angry over what, Coen wasn't quite sure...something about the wolf? He was having trouble forming coherent thoughts as he became dizzy from lack of air.

But one thought was clear. A memory, a group of memories, held back by time, only bringing pain to himself and others when they surfaced. The dull, ever-present ache of _why?_ within him.

"...Niira?" Coen managed to gasp.

Silence. The cat didn't move.

Coen felt despair rise in him. _It's not her...and I'm going to die now..._

Slowly, the large paws were lifted from him. The feline backed away; Coen coughed and shuddered as he could suddenly breathe again. He rolled onto his side, wheezing a few times.

Then the lion-creature spoke. "Who are you?" The voice was low and rumbled with a snarl, but was unmistakably female.

The knight was finally able to get himself into a kneeling position on one knee without feeling dizzy. _It can't be her though...she's..._ He set down his sword to gingerly feel along his sore ribs. _Nothing broken..._

"Who _are_ you?" she demanded again. "How do you know me?"

_It _is _her. But that's impossible...it's impossible..._ "You're..." He couldn't find a way to formulate speech out of his tangled thoughts.

She was unimpressed, still sitting back on her haunches--or semi-crouching, he couldn't tell--with her ears pinned back and whiskers bristled.

_But she's sitting right here in front of me. Her father would...what would he do?_ "Your father...he..."

She bared her teeth--a fearsome sight with the double pair of dagger-light fangs in her mouth. "What do you know about my father?"

"Sir Lavitz...First Knight of Serdio."

"Basil."

It took a moment for Coen to figure out the tone in her voice. She was trying to correct him. _Of course..._ "Serdio."

She clearly didn't believe him.

_The country was still split when she...died...or I guess 'disappeared' would be a better word._ "Doel is dead, Niira. Serdio is a single country now. Has been longer than I've been a knight."

Slowly, she relaxed a bit, claws retracting, hidden away in velvety golden fur.

"You've been gone a long time." A muscle in Coen's leg twitched again; he had never been good at staying put in awkward poses for long.

Niira was silent for what seemed like several minutes. Somewhere above them, the wolf could be heard working its way free of its entrapment. Finally, Niira spoke again. "Who are you?" Her voice was no longer threatening, although heavy with suspicion.

_Would she even remember me...?_ "Niira...it's me...Coen..."

Her green eyes never strayed from him. Then suddenly, she sprang forward. Coen braced himself for the impact.

He was bowled over again, although this time it was the arms of a human that surrounded him, not the claws of a lion. "Coen!" The exclamation was muffled, as she spoke it into his shoulder. "I can't believe it..."

You_ can't believe it? Everyone thought you were dead..._ "Niira...where...it's been so long...you've grown..."

"You're the one who's grown." She released him, but he made no move to rise--surely somehow he'd just end up back on the ground again. The girl--_she's...I suppose she's a woman now_--had propped herself up with her arms against his chest. Brushing a loose strand of dirty blonde hair away from her face, she smiled down at him in that cocky way she always had when they were young. As if she hadn't been trying to kill him just moments before. "What are you doing out here?"

Coen felt quite bruised across his chest, but he said nothing about it to Niira. "I was going to ask you that." _More like why, how you're alive._

"I asked first."

"I...er...we're station at the town, and..."

A hint of confusion was making its way across Niira's face.

"Just a routine peace-keeping thing, you know."

"No, I don't know."

_Right...forgot._ "You really have been gone a long time."

"You aren't making any sense."

Coen place a finger on his leather chestplate--now notched from Niira's cat-form claws--pointing to the shallow stamped design of a stylized eagle near the top. The emblem of the Serdian army; the cut and dark blue color of the shirt he wore denoted the Third Knighthood.

Niira observed it quietly. "So you're a knight now? I always knew you would. You never stopped talking about it when you got older."

"I was seven then, and I did not talk about it 'all the time.' Besides, it would have been strange for me _not_ to be in the army. I just figured I might as well go all the way and become a knight."

"Like father, like son, huh?" There was a bitter edge to Niira's voice as she sat back. Coen knew the tone well, even though it had been years since he had last heard it. Having been born to the First Knight, Niira had grown up around soldiers, and had wanted to be a knight herself. She likely would have become one...except that she was female.

Coen slowly sat up, finally free of anyone pinning him down. He quickly thought of how to change the subject, as it was one he found difficult to talk about himself. "My turn then. What are you doing here?"

"I...I'm not sure... I wanted to go home, to Bale, but...I couldn't bring myself to..." She sounded oddly distance, almost lost.

"Why not?" Coen responded in a low voice.

"I don't know." She turned her gaze to the ground, like a hurt child. Coen was shocked.

_Something's wrong..._ Slowly he reached and and gently touched her shoulder. "The company's leaving for Bale tomorrow. You can come with us."

"I don't know if I should."

_Something is definitely wrong._ "Niira...you should. You don't know what it was like...after you..." He paused, catching himself before he could say 'died.' "Your father..."

She flinched slightly at the mention of him. Why, Coen had no idea.

"Your father suffered so much when you disappeared. At least let him know you're all right." _I suffered. I'm sitting right next to you, and I can't even tell if you're all right or not._

She didn't answer.

"Please. We have a lot to catch up on."

There was a crash from the top of the slope, and then suddenly the red wolf was sliding down between them. It glared at Coen, hackles raised, legs tensed for action. The dappled sunlight that reached the forest floor showed dark spots in the bristled fur. The wolf growled; Coen pushed himself away.

Niira hissed something to the beast, and the wolf's attention was diverted to her, as if it had understood what she said.

"You can talk to it?" Coen kept an eye on the canine, unsure of what its next move would be.

"She's my sister."

"...What?"

"Adopted. Friend. Sort of. It's a long story."

"I was wondering there for a moment..."

Niira gave a sigh of mock exasperation. "Coen, you were never that stupid even as a boy."

The wolf barked, as if trying to add to the conversation. In fact, it did sound much like human speech, so much so that Coen thought he was imagining things when he heard "Wuff says wuff" from the animal.

"Yeah, that's about all she can say in word-based languages."

_It...she...talks? _"How...useful."

"Her name is Alakyl."

"Wuff."

"Huh. Well...um...sorry I was...trying to kill you earlier..." Something about saying that phrase to what he considered a simple animal made Coen feel extremely dumb. "It's my job to protect the village and such, though..."

"I told her to stop doing that, but she wouldn't listen." Niira glared at the wolf, who lowered her ears.

"Maybe she'll listen now, eh?" Coen stood, retrieving his sword from where he had set it earlier. "Speaking of which, I should go get the pack she was chewing up earlier before I forget. You don't happen to know where the other ones are, do you?"

"She won't tell me."

"Great." _Several unaccounted-for magical chemicals just sitting somewhere in the forest for anyone to find. This is going to be fun explaining._

They didn't say much as they returned to where Alakyl had emptied the pack earlier that evening. After several admonishments by Coen on how _not_ to handle the explosive vials, they managed to round up most of the supplies, excluding the rations that Alakyl had eaten. Soon, they were making their way to the town again.

"So..." Niira said softly. "You're a knight now."

"Yes."

"Blue's the Third Knighthood, right?"

"You remember well."

"You serve under you father?"

_She remembers too well._ Coen grit his teeth, suppressing a sudden wave of anger and guilt. "I did. Not any more."

"Who leads the knighthood now?"

"Um...I do."


	3. I Remember

Wow a review :). Thanks **Reiji Neko Mitsukai**. In answer to your question, yes, Coen's statement is in reference to Lavitz still being alive. An explanation comes later in the story.

So this is the last chapter from Coen's point of view for a while. He makes me happy though, so his pov will be back later! Dun dun duuunn!

Also, it is very difficult to concentrate on writing when songs like Drunter-Drüber and Das Feuer der Hölle from Der Glöckner von Notre Dame are playing in your earphones. So much distracting goodness.

-----

Unlike most of the other knights, who slept in the barracks, Coen lived in a small house on the north side of the town. It was little more than a front room with his bed and a table, and a bath in its own room to one side. Coen didn't mind, as his own house back in Bale was only slightly bigger.

He did still have to stop in the barracks to find a place to put the objects he and Niira had retrieved from Alakyl's exploration of the day pack. He didn't much like the idea of leaving them in his house until tomorrow. _So leave them in someone else's living space. Heh._

An older man, who was like Coen dressed in the dark blue of the Third Knighthood, was sitting on an upended fire log, leaning back against the barracks building. "I was beginning to wonder where you were." He looked at Coen through half-opened eyes. "It's just like you to leave me in charge of these ruffians the night before we head home. You know how crazy they are when they want to go home."

Coen smirked at him as he walked by. "I only do these things because I know you can handle it, Radulf."

"In all seriousness, though, where were you?"

"Taking care of our little thieving problem." He stepped inside. "Over here," he said to Niira, motioning to a nearby room.

"What are these things anyway?" The vials in Niira's arms clinked together; Coen reflexively winced.

"Explosives of sorts. Your 'sister' was toying with death earlier."

"Oh. I thought I felt..." She trailed off.

"Felt what?" Coen poked around in the various supplies piled along the walls, trying to find one of the specially-made carrying sacks for the vials.

"Magic of some sort."

_She can sense magic?_ "Hmm." Locating one, he hefted it onto a shelf. "Well, if any one of these had broken, most of us would not be here right now."

"I see." She handed her glasses to him.

Someone had stepped to the doorway of the room. "Excuse me, Sir Coen?"

"Yes?" He turned slightly to see who it was; one of his knights. _Just can't get away from work today, can I? _"Oh, right. Give me a minute to at least find a place for this lady to stay."

"Sir."

"Stay?" Niira gave him a confused look.

"Unless you want to sleep in the forest again."

"I've slept outdoors or something resembling it for most of my life."

"Wuff."

"Come on, Niira. Give me something to work on here." Coen nodded slightly to the doorway, where the other knight had been moments earlier. "Just a few more minutes not dealing with business today."

She smiled knowingly. "How did you ever get put in charge of a knighthood?"

"It's...a long story." And not one he was overly eager to share. Carefully setting the sack full of the dangerous glass vials back on the floor, he turned back to his friend. _I still can't believe it...she's actually here._

Niira looked back curiously. "What?"

"Nothing." He shook his head.

"Then let's go, shall we?"

"Right." _This is going to be one hell of a report I make to King Albert when we return._

-----

While Niira and Alakyl relaxed in his house, Coen ran around the town trying to conclude business there so he wouldn't have to worry tomorrow. He hated dealing with this aspect of things. He had never been good with managing such affairs. They always made him uncomfortable, and he ended up saying awkward things at times. Thank goodness he didn't have to too much tonight.

Night had taken hold on the world when he had finally finished his work. Tired by the day's events, Coen wandered to where he had last seen Radulf, by the barracks. The night air was cool, typical Serdian weather. As he neared the building, Coen paused to sigh, closing his eyes. He disliked these 'peacekeeping' assignments as much as the next man. Six months was more than enough for him. Unfortunately, the remaining Sandoran loyalists still posed enough of a problem to warrant the military presence in the outlying southern towns.

"Ready to go home?" Radulf was, as expected, still sitting where Coen had left him. Coen had known Radulf for most of his life, and was well aware of his lieutenant's tendency to not move if at all possible on his days off.

"Very." Finding another fire log, Coen set his foot against it and rolled it next to Radulf. Once he had it in a suitable spot, he practically flopped down onto it.

"Going out with a bang though, right?"

"What?"

"Well, what else is a man to think when you come waltzing into town with an unknown woman..."

Coen felt his face grow warm. "How...how..._dare you_ suggest...!" He pulled a few chips of bark off of the log in his flustered state. He crumbled them in his fingers, letting the crumbs drop to the ground.

Radulf shook his head, chuckling to himself. "Soa above lad, you have got to learn to not take things so seriously!" Radulf was notorious for his ability to keep a humorous outlook on life no matter what.

The Third Knight said nothing, still feeling his cheeks burn in the night air. A few more pieces of bark found their end.

"Just don't tell Lavitz I said that. I have a feeling he would be much even less appreciative to hear it than you."

"There is no way I would...how do you know who she is?"

"I may be old, but I don't forget a face."

"Radulf. She was a child when she...diappeared."

"She has a lot of her father in her. That, and you two were carrying on like old friends do." He gave Coen a sidelong glance. "You saying you didn't recognize her?"

"It's hard to recognize someone when the first view you have of them is the inside of a cat's mouth."

"How does that work?"

"She was trying to kill me, Radulf. So if you're going to get upset about not recognizing people, you need to talk to her about it too." The young knight absentmindedly ran his fingers along the scratches in his breastplate.

Radulf laughed again. "No, you two haven't changed a bit."

"She didn't try to kill me when we were little." Coen frowned. "You think my near-death experience is _funny_?"

The lieutenant gave Coen a friendly slap on the shoulder. "You really need to learn to lighten up."


	4. Nighttime

Yes, yes, Lavitz will show up eventually. Next two or three chapters, I forget. Have patience :).

Hurray Niira's turn to narrate. Man it's hard to write her without either giving stuff away or not saying enough. I tried.

-----

Niira was one of the few feliforms who actually enjoyed being in water. Perhaps that was due to her human parentage. Or perhaps not. She had never given it much thought.

Since Coen would be busy with his duties for a while, she had decided to take the time and have a bath. A hot bath. Something she had not been able to do for several months. Streams and lakes got the job done, but there was just nothing like warm water to make one feel better.

Alakyl waited on the other side of the door, as she felt it was her duty to protect her 'sister' from the perceived male threat of this Coen person. Nothing Niira said could change her mind as to what intentions Coen, or any other man, had. Alakyl trusted people in her own terms and in her own time.

Sighing softly, Niira settled in the warm water with a grateful purr, although her human throat made it sound more like a growl. She leaned back against the side of the bath, slowly sliding down until the water was over her head, making her hair fan out as if it was alive.

After a few moments, she surfaced, blinking the water from her eyes. _Was this really such a good idea? What if...no one remembers...or no one cares? _He_'ll just find me again anyway._ She closed her eyes. _He always does._

She was just getting out and searching for a towel when she heard Alakyl growl. Wrapping herself in the towel, she sat on the edge of the bath to listen.

"Wuff! Grrr..."

"What...? Oh, shut up." It was Coen.

"Grrr."

"What makes you think I'd want to go in there?"

"Grrr."

"I'm just getting--oh, forget it. I'm leaving now, happy?"

"Grrr." Alakyl continued her growling until the front door clicked shut again. Satisfied the male threat was gone, she fell silent once more.

Niira smiled and quickly dried herself off. _Those two are getting along great already._ Minutes later, she stepped out of the room, dressed in one of her few changes of clothes. She had left her home with as little as she thought she could get away with--clothes, a day's worth of food, and her weapons. Not like she had much more to begin with.

Alakyl jumped up as soon as the bath door opened, her tail wagging. She grinned at Niira.

"Oh really? You think you're so tough to defend me like that?"

"Wuff!"

"Take it easy on him. He's an old friend."

The wolf gave her a suspicious look.

"Not _that_ kind of friend! Good grief."

Alakyl looked away haughtily.

"Oh, shut up."

"Rrrff." Alakyl followed her out of the house.

The night's bright moon gave off plenty of light for Niira to see her way around the town. She retraced the earlier path she had taken, from the barracks to the house, and was surprised to see that Coen was sitting with the other knight--Radulf, was that his name?--they had passed earlier. "I thought you'd still be busy."

"No. Thank gods." Coen was leaning back against the building tiredly. "Not until later. It's just my luck to get night watch on the night before we leave."

"Which starts soon, don't forget," the older knight put in.

"I know."

"Just making sure."

Niira sat on the ground in front of Coen; Alakyl promptly lay down between them. "I'm sorry Alakyl got mad at you earlier. She does that sometimes."

"I see."

"Wuff."

"Just so you know, we'll be leaving about two hours after sunrise, possibly earlier. Depends on how eager the men are to get home." Coen said it in an almost off-handed manner.

"All right." Niira was used to waking up shortly after sunrise; she would be ready to go. She chewed on her lower lip. _No...stop thinking so much. Just do it before you talk yourself out of going._

"You can sleep in my bed, if you want," Coen offered.

Instantly, Alakyl was growling again.

Niira looked at the ground. "Alakyl, please!"

Coen looked equally embarrassed. "For the love of..."

The other knight was chuckling softly, but he quickly coughed a few times to try to stop himself.

Trying to compose herself, Niira ignored the wolf's further remarks. "Don't be ridiculous, Coen."

"Niira, I've slept in that bed for the past six months. One short night in the barracks after watch is not going to kill me."

"Grrr."

"Why does your dog think I'm some sort of pervert?" Coen said, rather forcefully.

_Yup...he's still too modest for his own good._ Niira smiled slightly. _Then again, who am I to talk? This _is_ a rather awkward situation. Thanks a lot, Alakyl._ "She dislikes males in general. She acts this way to my cousin too."

"You have a cousin?"

"Mother's sister's son."

"I didn't know you had any extended family."

"Well, I didn't either, until I got to the Northlands." _Yes, that place opened my eyes to quite a few things._

"You'll have to tell me about it some time."

"Maybe." _I'd rather not speak of it ever again._

"Well...tomorrow, then. I have to go now." Coen stood stiffly. Niira watched him walk away in the dim moonlight.

_How on earth did he ever get put in charge of the Third Knighthood? And why? His father wouldn't be old enough to retire from active duty yet. I wonder what happened, why he had to step down._ She would try to remember to ask Coen tomorrow.

Pushing herself to her feet, Niira spoke to the older knight who still sat nearby. She vaguely recognized his face from her childhood, although she would have never remembered his name if she hadn't heard it from Coen. "I should be going too."

He nodded politely. "G'night then. Hope you're ready to do some seriously traveling tomorrow."

"I will be." She left him, heading back to Coen's house. As she neared the front door, Alakyl growled from behind her.

Niira sighed, frustrated. "Will you shut up already? He's not going to try to get in bed with me. He's not stupid." _Think about it, sister. I could beat him up as a little girl, and I sure can now. And even if I didn't, my father would._

The wolf snuffled, indicating her disagreement.

_Heck, I'm sure my father would even if I _did_ beat up Coen beforehand. He always was overprotective like that._

_Oh god, how am I going to face him again?_


	5. Homeward

Woo, almost back to a canon place. I promise, there will be some action happening in this story XD. I just take a while to build up the background. Just hang in there.

-----

For two weeks they marched across the plains of Serdio, the feet of men and horses trampling the grasses into the dusty ground. It was all new territory to Niira; she had never been traveled this far south when she was a child. In fact, she had probably never been more than fifty miles from Bale. Her father had been reluctant to allow his daughter too far from the relative safety of the capital city, especially when the tensions between Sandora and Basil had increased. She was, after all, the only child of a very important individual in Basil--a perfect target for anyone who wanted to cause trouble.

That hadn't stopped her from yearning to wander. She envied the soldiers and merchants who traveled to Bale from afar, and had often listened enthralled to their stories of distant lands. She longed to to be out exploring, to encounter action and excitement and emerge from such trials triumphant. Instead, she could only stay in Bale and play pretend-games of such adventures with Coen. Never was she the damsel in distress, though, and Coen her heroic knight. Instead, they battled imaginary beasts and imagined perils together, partners in the endeavor. Much to the dismay of her father. His little girl never wanted to act like a girl.

Niira had since encountered her fair share of trials, although whether or not she overcame them, she couldn't tell. Coming home had been one of the hardest things she had ever attempted. And she could still feel the panic in her, telling her to turn around, go back into hiding. It was an old fear that had plagued her ever since...

She narrowed her eyes.

Yet here she was, once again on an adventure, this time once again joined with her old friend. _But I feel very much the maiden in distress now. And Coen, well, he is a knight in shining armor. Heh._

"You've been rather quiet today."

The sudden proximity of the voice made her jump. Usually, Alakyl was nearby to warn her of approaching people when she went off into her own thoughts like that. But the wolf was chasing bugs through the tall grass, nowhere near Niira. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

The young knight grinned. "I'd hardly call that 'sneaking.' You're just too high-strung."

"I am not."

"Well, you _are_ half cat or whatever..."

"Coen." She said it with a mix of annoyance and amusement. Blaming various traits of Niira's personality on her non-human parentage had been used and reused and worn out during her childhood. She had always shrugged it off in public, although among friends she had been more than eager to show off the extent of her feline attributes, the favorite always being to see how high she could climb in the tree _this_ time. Which was all in fun, until her father found out where she was, which would promptly land her in a scolding.

"We should reach Bale tomorrow," Coen was saying.

_That soon?_ The thought came unbidden to Niira's mind, and immediately she felt a panic within. _I'm not ready for this_.

"Something wrong?"

"No. What would be wrong?"

"Oh, I don't know." He said it in an off-handed manner.

"Don't mock me, Coen. It was hard enough just coming back to Endiness."

"I'm not mocking you. Not really."

"You're such a...a...egotistical little boy sometimes. How'd you end up in charge of a knighthood anyhow? I mean, I didn't think your father would be retiring for quite a while yet. I'd like an answer."

"Fine." For the briefest of moments, he hesitated. "My father was wounded by some Sandoran bandits after the war, so I had to take his place for a while. And then the wound never healed right, so I'm stuck here to this day."

"Why didn't...what's his name...Radulf take charge?"

Again Coen paused.

_I know he's usually a quiet person, but he's not telling me something important here, I can tell._

"It was King Albert's decision."

"Ah." That still didn't quite make sense to Niira. Sure, Albert had always had a hand in the affairs of the knights, and had the power to deploy them where he saw fit, but she remembered that most of the internal affairs of the knighthoods had been left to their leaders. Her own father had spent quite a bit of time dealing with the problems of the First Knighthood, and with those of other companies. _So for Albert to be the one who assigned Coen to the rank of Third Knight...there is definitely something Coen's not telling me._

As much as her curiosity told her to pursue the matter, she resisted. "So it was a sort of battlefield commission thing, huh?"

"You can say that." He glanced at her. "So what is it you're worried about."

"I think you know very well." Niira pointedly looked at the ground, at the green grasses flattened against the ground. "I'm not the same person I was back then."

"I'm sure things'll work out."

"This isn't the same situation as between you and me. He's going to be meeting a person whose entire childhood he's missed. Someone he won't even recognize. How do you relate to someone you don't know? How am I supposed to..." She cut herself off, afraid she has said too much.

"It'll work out," Coen said again. His voice was low, as if he was stating a fact.

"I don't know." She tried to ignore his gaze. "I don't think..."

"Think what?"

"Nothing."

With that simple word, she could feel Coen's reaction of shock and irritation. They may have been separated for many years, but he obviously had not forgotten the closeness they had once shared. In the past, they would tell each other everything, even things they were afraid to tell their own families. That Niira had cut the conversation short, refused to share her thoughts, was like a slap in the face.

Niira realized all this immediately after she spoke, of course. Guilt made her cringe inside.

"Tell me some time." It was a command, angry, frustrated, and worried. A command that expected to be obeyed.

_...He's changed too._ Her memories of Coen were of a soft-spoken boy who had a hard enough time standing up for himself, much less ordering others around. They did not include the commanding officer of a group of warriors, the man who now stood beside her.

_He's right. I've been quiet for too long._

_But still...I'm so scared._

"Niira?"

"I...maybe..." _No. I can't. But I have to._ "Maybe."


	6. Bale

So there's been some wondering about who Lavitz married. And now I shall tell you a bit about her! She was a member of a shapeshifting race that lives north of Endiness, and she could shift between human and feline forms (hence Niira's own ability to do so). Obviously around Lavitz she spent more time as a human :). There's a perfectly good explanation for the species' existance, as well as what brought this woman to Endiness...but you'll have to wait :D It's all part of my grand plan of awesomeness. mwaha.

FYI, 'Schloss' is the German word for 'castle.' I thought it sounded good. Plus, Serdio (at least, Basil/the northern part) in the game seems to be rather Germanic.

And...they've finally made it back to Bale! Coen gets to make his report to King Albert and the knights finally get to go home and Niira gets to...well...you'll see.

-----

Home.

At least something in Endiness hadn't changed. Bale still stood, the same as it always had, with wood-and-stone buildings following the curves of the cobbled streets and walkways. Niira could smell the dust of the cobbles, and a hint of sweetgrass in the air--they were scents that she had forever associated with her hometown, even after being gone for so long. She remembered well the streets she and the knights used to pass through the southern end of the city. A few blocks away from the central plaza, they turned north; Niira recognized it immediately as one of the routes to Indels Schloss. This one, she recalled, turned west when it neared the castle's front gates, wrapping its way around the castle grounds to the military headquarters and training area around the back side. It was also where the knights' barracks were located, for those men who did not have their own houses.

_I used to run down here all the time to torment the older squires. It _was_ always fun to see their faces when a girl half their size could best them with staves._

_Until they started ganging up on me, that was just plain cheating._

The day was warm, and people were outside, busy with their daily tasks. Many stopped to watch the knights pass, sometimes shouting and waving at them, glad to see their safe return. Niira ignored them, continuing to take in the sights of the city. _I wonder if Grandmother is still living in that house. I guess I should wonder first if she's even still around._

Coen walked beside her, also oblivious to the townspeople around them. His face was tired and drawn as they walked towards Indels. "I'll pretty much be going straight to King Albert so I can make my report and get it over with. Lavitz--your father should be there too. He was supposed to return from the southeast watch a few days ago."

Niira just nodded.

"You can come--"

"No!" She practically shouted it so suddenly that Alakyl jumped next to her. "I...I'll wait in the courtyard...until..." _Until I talk myself out of this?_

Coen glanced curiously at her, but did not question her decision. The two walked in silence up the hill to Indels. The castle loomed ever larger in Niira's vision, distant flags on the high spires fluttering lazily. When they reached the westward bend in the road, Coen turned back to his knights, telling them something that Niira didn't quite hear. The men turned down the path to the barracks, leaving their leader and the stranger woman and her watch dog alone.

Niira didn't pay attention to them. Instead, she was focused on a familiar figure perched on a post outside the castle gates. _Are you still here too?_

The creature stirred at the sight of Niira and Coen, the long feathers of his wings and tail spreading out. The man-sized beast lifted his long ears, turning them around so he could hear who approached. When he recognized Coen, the crest on his head fluffed happily. "Ah, we were expecting you," he said to the knight in crisp human speech.

_What are you doing here? Surely you don't just do simple greeting service for Albert now. That's quite a step down from being the sole source of contact between my mother and the Northlands, after all._

The bird-creature turned to Niira. His feathery crest suddenly rose to its fullest. "A ghost!" he shrieked, nearly falling off his perch in fright. He beat his wings in an attempt to make a quick take-off. "A ghost! Help! _A ghost, a ghost!_" He was speaking in the Northlander tongue.

_Oh no...he'll attract attention to me!_ Niira charged forward, launching herself at the avian in an attempt to catch him in a pounce-tackle. She succeeded, trapping him between herself and the ground. He flailed in a panic, kicking with clawed feet and whacking her with his tail, screeching loudly. Niira twisted in odd directions as she tried to avoid them, finally managing to clamp her hand over his muzzle. "Quiet!" she hissed, glaring into his dark eyes. Slowly, the creature fell silent. Niira removed her hand.

"Niira?" Incredulous, the creature pulled himself out from under her, slowly rolling onto his feet again. "But...how?"

"It's been a while, Happy Tail."

Niira had known him even longer than she had known Coen. A Northlander like her mother, Happy Tail had served as a messenger to her, able to fly over the sea that separated the Northlands from Endiness. His boyish personality and refusal to shift to human form had provided Niira many hours of entertainment when she was a girl.

Happy Tail spread his wings once more. "But...your father! I must tell him...!"

"No, you can't tell him!" Again, she pinned him to the ground.

"Why not?"

"Because..." _You're not really sure why not, are you? What are you afraid of?_ "Not yet." She let that sink in. Satisfied that Happy Tail would no longer run around screaming, she released him. "Don't tell anyone. Not yet."

"But he knows already." The avian waved a wing in Coen's direction.

"Yeah, well, nobody else needs to know."

Coen coughed pointedly from somewhere nearby. Niira and Happy Tail both turned to him. "Do you always feel the need to tackle people to the ground like that?"

"Wuff!" Alakyl exclaimed.

"That sounded like a yes to me. Happy Tail, would you please inform his majesty that I'll be up shortly?" 'Up,' when said in relation to Indels Schloss, did indeed mean 'up.' The only proper way for most people to enter the castle was by going up the long set of stairs that rose from the courtyard to the entrance of the grand hall nearly three stories up. The slope of the stairway was rather shallow, but their sheer length could be daunting to some. Niira herself had rarely used the stairway, instead following her father up through the lower levels that housed some of the soldiers' training equipment, or through some other entrance found in one of her many secret exploration sessions.

Niira smirked at the thought. _I was such a troublemaker back then. A troublemaker who always worked within the rules, though._

Coen and Happy Tail had left her in the courtyard; the Northlander had returned to his post on the other side of the gates, and Coen promised to return as soon as he could. In the mean time, Alakyl had run off again to chase bugs and Niira idly wandered the green expanse of the lawn. Eventually, she decided to head for the shade of the north wall and the low, decorative trees that grew over several benches and tables--a place she had often gone to eat picnics in the past. Tiredly, she settled herself onto one of the benches, feeling the cool touch of the stone even through her travel garb.

Nearby, a group of men was also relaxing in the shade. They were knights, obviously, as they wore the light metal and leather armor indicative of a soldier on training duty, although these men were certainly not training at the moment. Niira watched them with idle curiosity. Judging by the weaponry that laid on the ground around them, the knights had been training earlier. _Just taking a break then, I assume._ Although why they had been training in the courtyard was beyond Niira. _Trying to impress the ladies maybe?_

_That shouldn't be too hard for them though._ The knights' tunics were green, a color Niira had no trouble putting with the First Knighthood, the best group of soldiers Serdio had to offer. _Just plain showing off then? They always were a bunch of crazies._

The First Knighhood...her father's men. Niira turned to face forward again, looking to the ground, starting to panic. _What am I doing here? I can't go through with this...but I have to...I'm so scared..._

"Excuse me, but what is a such a fair young lady doing over here among us uncouth rapscallions?"

It took Niira a few moments to realize that she was being addressed. Startled back to reality, she blinked a few times at the knight who now stood beside her, then almost laughed. _Fair lady?_ That was certainly something that was not usually associated with her. She didn't look like a 'fair lady,' as she still wore her traveling clothes, and she certainly didn't consider herself to be one. She was a warrior with little taste for 'fine' things, unless one was talking about fine weapons.

"You laugh?" The knight took a small step towards her as some of his companions chuckled. He was young, perhaps only a few years older than herself, with a face that was not unpleasant, although he wore a cocky expression.

Calming herself, Niira looked levelly at him. "I'm waiting for someone," she said by way of an answer to his question.

"A friend? Or perhaps a lover?"

_He _is _cocky. Oh, if only I had my claws, I'd mess up that pretty little face of yours._ "What business is it of yours?"

The man gave a half-bow. "My apologies."

"Family. My father."

One of the older knights moved closer. "Your father? I don't recognize you. Who's your father?" His tone was suspicious, almost aggressive.

_Oh god, why didn't I just say I was waiting for Coen?_ Taking a breath, she turned her green gaze to the newcomer. _Well...there's really no sense in lying._


	7. Darn Reports

All right! The part which many of you have been waiting for...the appearance of a canon character! lolz Dino. There are still many more OCs and canon chars to appear later though. It never ends!

So, for a short chapter, back to Coen, who has to report to King Albert...

-----

_Thank the gods that's over with._

Coen was slouched back in the chair, staring idly off to nowhere in particular. He hated having to give reports. He was never any good at it; it didn't help that this time, his mind was heavy with the knowledge of the woman who waited in the courtyard below. At least the report hadn't been too involved this time. Not much had happened in the town. It still took all of his concentration to not give away who he had met there.

Sir Lavitz, however, could still tell that something was going on in the younger knight's mind. The First Knight watched Coen with a scrutinizing gaze from his own seat in front of the king. "Something on your mind?"

"No...no sir."

"You seem rather distracted."

"It's nothing. Just tired."

Lavitz raised an eyebrow, glancing briefly at King Albert, who sat on the other side of the table. He obviously didn't believe Coen, but didn't pursue the matter.

_He'll ask later though. He never forgets about stuff like this...he'll find out sooner or later._ Coen closed his eyes for a moment. He hoped he didn't look as nervous as he felt.

Eventually, he turned his attention back to the king, who was bent over a map that was spread before him, his dark cloak hanging over his shoulders in thick folds. The only time Coen could remember seeing the king without his cloak was when he was sparring with Lavitz, although even then he still sometimes wore it. Coen was convinced it was just to make him look bigger, more solid. By himself, the king was not a particularly threatening sight, with a gentle face and lithe, almost thin build that his height only emphasized. The cloak certainly added a bit of an impressive edge to him.

Coen was startled from his thoughts when the door to the room opened. He heard someone step inside, clear his throat to announce his presence. As one, the two knights turned to face the guard who had entered the room. Albert lifted his head, confused by the intrusion. "Yes?"

Again the guard cleared his throat, as if nervous...or amused, and trying to hide it. "There's...um...there's a situation in the courtyard we thought might require your attention, sir." Coen couldn't tell exactly who was being addressed, the king or Lavitz.

"Oh?" This intrigued the king.

"Er...in the courtyard...there's a girl who's..." The guard's mouth twitched into a barely-perceptible smile. He took a breath and then spoke quickly, as it trying to say what he needed to without collapsing into a laughing fit. "She's got herself in a tussle with the First Knighthood and...doing a rather good job of showing them up."

Coen sighed, hiding his face with his hand. _Niira, you idiot...why? How is taking down the First Knighthood getting you off to a good start with your father?_

Lavitz was by one of the windows, looking down into the courtyard. He frowned, much less amused than the guard had been; Coen wondered if he was mad at the girl who was taking it upon herself to beat up the knights, or at his knights for not being able to handle her. The First Knight slowly turned away from the scene. "If your majesty would excuse me."

"Of course."

Coen stood, walking to the window, and dared a glance at the scene below. _Niira, I hope you realize what trouble you've just gotten yourself into._

_Why do my all reports always have to end badly?_


	8. Reunited

_Doubt me now still?_

Niira stood over the two knights she had been talking to earlier. They now writhed on the ground in varying amounts of pain. She had answered the older one's question of who her father was truthfully, and had been rewarded with the aggressively-spoken warning of being imprisoned for claiming something like being the daughter of the First Knight. She had reacted in the only way she knew how: attack them until they were no longer threats to her.

_In their defense, I guess they wouldn't have recognized me._ She pondered that as she watched the two men, wondering if perhaps she acted just a little too quickly.

The rest of the knighthood was rushing to the aid of their comrades, picking up their weapons as if getting ready to battle an armored foe. Niira turned quickly, striking one in the jaw with an upwards swing of her fist, and another with a hard kick to the middle. The rest of the knights were a little more thoughtful in their approach of her, brandishing their weapons, assorted light spears and swords, in an attempt to keep their unarmed opponent far enough away that she couldn't hurt them. Even this, however, was hesitant, as if they weren't sure how or if they should attack a female.

Before anyone could recover, Niira was on the next knight, her hands grabbing his shoulders and pulling him close, straight into a headbutt. With a jerk, Niira brought her knee straight up into his groin. The man fell without any further resistance. The half-blood woman turned to the next nearest man.

_Sad that I'm beating them without any armor or weapons other than my body. Have they really gotten this bad since I was last here, or did I just catch them off-guard?_ She hoped it was the latter. In fact, she was sure it was. Her father would have never allowed them to get worse. _No way on earth that would happen._

One of the knights she had previously taken down was scrambling to rise again. Niira prepared to launch herself at him. _I'm so tired of people thinking I'm lying._ But before she had a chance to move, there was a jolting pain in her knees that knocked her off her feet. She fell face-first, hitting the ground hard despite her attempt to break her fall with her hands. Her body sparked with pain for a moment. _What the...? The cowards! Attacking from behind now?_

There was a spear on the ground nearby, a weapon dropped by one of the knights she had taught her lesson to. _Time to make things a little more even._ In a motion inhumanly fast, she grabbed it and, judging her distance quickly, swung the weapon around with the butt end braced against the ground, the point leveled at what should be her attacker's midsection. _Just try to counter that. I've been trained on this more..._

Her aim was perfect. The tip of the blade was touching the man's long overshirt right at his stomach. However, Niira was shocked to feel the sharp, cold edge of a steel weapon against her throat; the man had used his own spear to attack her. _Damn it, I should have thought of that. Stupid Niira, if this was a real battle you'd be dead right now._

Anger, both at herself and her attacker, clouded her mind for a fleeting second as they held each other at spearpoint. And then she thought to actually look at the man.

Recognition turned her insides cold. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. She dropped her weapon as if it was red-hot, and she quickly pushed herself away until she was free from the man's spear blade. She pushed herself up until she was sitting, propped up by one hand, yet cringing like a frightened child.

The man was eying her with idle curiosity, although anger smoldered in his gray-green eyes. He appeared infuriatingly calm, considering what had been going on moments before, and the fact that his own life had been threatened.

_No...no..._ Niira managed to get her knees under her, but she never ceased cringing. _It can't be him...it can't be..._ But he was there in her memories. The same person she remembered now stood before her. Sure, his face had a more world-weary look to it, his sandy-blonde hair was starting to gray, but it was undoubtedly _him_. He still stood with the same quiet confidence that more than made up for what little he lacked in height...and he still used a spear as if it was second-nature to him.

"What do you think you're doing?" His voice was calm, almost soft, with no sign of aggression, or almost any emotion at all. But his irritation was very clear to Niira. He had always spoken with that tone of voice whenever he was mad.

Niira cowered. _I haven't seen him, heard his voice in years, and the first thing he says to me is that._ She fought to restrain tears, realizing just how weird it would look to the knights--the stranger that had been beating them up just before was crying like a little girl? _But I was only a little girl when I last saw him. Does he even still remember me? Does he even want a daughter any more?_ "Daddy?" she mewled timidly.

The knights of the First Knighthood murmured and hissed softly when she said that. But the attention of their leader Lavitz was turned to Niira alone. His expression was still one of calm anger, but there was something else in his eyes now...a distant pain.

Niira let out a strangled mew, suddenly no longer able to contain herself. "_Father...Father..._" she said in the Northland tongue. Ashamed of her tears, she turned away, hiding her face behind her hands. "_I'm so sorry_." The words were rushing out of her now, barely understandable. "_I failed...I'm sorry...I couldn't do it, I couldn't do anything. I tried to come back, I really did, but I couldn't...I didn't want to leave you, I didn't have a choice..._" Her outburst dissolved into sobbing. _I'm sorry I'm so weak...I'm sorry I hurt you._

She didn't hear the spear drop to the ground, or the knight step to her. She barely noticed him drop to his knees beside her. Her reached out, cupping her face in his strong hands. "Niira...Niira..." he whispered, his own voice choked with tears. "This can't be..." He took her in his arms, stroking her hair the way he had done when she was a child.

Niira no longer cared what the knights around her thought. She let herself go limp in her father's embrace, her sight blurred by tears. For a few moments, she relaxed with his arms around her, her head resting on his chest. She could hear his heart beating, a sound muffled by the officer's uniform he wore. The decorative overshirt was in dark green velvet, soft against her cheek. She remembered it well from her childhood. _Some things don't change..._

Then she opened her eyes in a sudden surge of anger. _Shining Claw...how can I even still admit to being your kin? All I ever asked was for love, and you denied me that simple thing._

_I will never forgive you._

-----

King Albert had watched the whole spectacle with amused curiosity. He and Coen stood at the window in silence, which was only broken when the king commented on the woman's talent to be able to take on most of the First Knighthood like that. Coen's silence was due to the nervousness that he fought to keep under control. _He knows who it is. He has to. He's not stupid._ Still, Coen stayed quiet on that matter. He wasn't completely sure Albert knew who the woman was, and he was rather hesitant to be the one to break the news. _She did ask us to not say anything to anyone..._

They had watched as Lavitz stepped across the courtyard, his knights moving aside so he could pass. Coen recognized the First Knight's stride, one he assumed when he meant business. _Niira, Niira...you are going to get yourself hurt. You idiot._ Lavitz had taken a spear from one of his men and swung the shaft at Niira's legs, striking her knees and sending her sprawling on the ground.

It was when the woman was able to swing her own spear around so that it touched Lavitz that Albert's expression changed to one of suspicion, and then irritation. To catch the First Knight in such a vulnerable situation was extremely difficult; Albert himself could rarely do it, and he had been personally trained by Lavitz.

Coen closed his eyes. _Oh great. I'm in for it now._

The king slowly turned to face Coen. The knight flinched, knowing Albert's irritation was directed at him. "In the chance of sounding crazy, I have to ask. Is that Niira?"

Coen tried to act innocent of that kind of knowledge. "What makes you think that, your majesty?" It was not something one should ever as a king, and he knew it. _Damn it, I always have to say the stupidest things in situations like this._

Albert was looking down at the courtyard again. Niira had jumped back from Lavitz, as if startled. "I don't know anyone else her age who would be able to handle a spear like that, and act like she was seeing a ghost." He eyed Coen again. "Is it her?"

"Yes sir," Coen replied softly.

"So, you found her during your time away." It was not a question. The king had already figured out exactly what was going on, he just wanted to make sure his knight knew it as well.

"Yes."

Albert paused. "You knew she was alive, and _here_, in the courtyard."

"Yes."

"And you didn't say anything."

"She didn't want me to."

"She didn't want her own _father_ to know she was alive?" Albert fairly hissed.

Coen winced. "She wanted to do things on her own time. She asked me not to say anything, so I honored that."

The king was silent, trying to keep himself from becoming angry. At last, he sighed. "It's not my place to be upset about this," he said. "It is, however, Lavitz's, and I'm sure he won't be too happy to find out you knew about this and didn't tell him. I for one and looking forward to seeing what he does about it." He grinned boyishly at Coen.

The young knight smirked, looking back out the window. _Great._

-----

Ha! Notes at the end this time!

Sometimes I make myself sick with the sweet stuff I write. Sorry this chapter was so long.

So Niira's finally been reunited with her father, hurray! What exactly separated them in the first place? And what does this one Shining Claw have to do with it? What did Lavitz and Niira do in the time they were apart? Don't forget Coen! Tune in to the next episode for more fun!


	9. That Didn't Go So Well

Everyone has their issues with Niira's return that they have to work out. So they try. Let's see how well that goes...

-----

Niira rested her head on her arms, closing her eyes as if tired. She _was_ tired, actually. Tired of trying to explain things to Alakyl, who did not understand why there were three men also in the room. The wolf still did not trust Coen, despite Niira's numerous coaxings, and had once more planted herself firmly between her sister and the knight.

Alakyl could sense the similarity between Niira and Lavitz, and so she left the older man alone. Albert was a conundrum for her, though. She didn't understand the concept of a king, and Niira had given up trying to put it in terms she would know.

The half-blood was really in no mood to be listening to the wolf in the first place. She ended their conversation with a curt, "_If you so much as bark at one of them, I swear I will throw you from the highest turret of the castle._" This, Alakyl understood. She fell silent without protest.

Lavitz had been strangely silent since he had stopped the fight in the courtyard. He and Niira hadn't spoken a word as they walked through the lower levels of Indels to the room where they now sat. The First Knight was now leaned back in his chair, one hand covering his face, as if he didn't want anyone to read his emotions. Niira understood the feeling completely. She hadn't even been able to bring herself to turn around to greet Coen and King Albert as they too had entered the room, and soon after when Alakyl had shown up. Nobody had bothered to ask how the wolf got into the castle in the first place. Such details were not important now.

"Niira..." Lavitz's voice had an odd, almost sad sound to it.

She opened her eyes slowly. _I don't want to talk right now..._

"Why...why didn't you come back...before?" Her father sounded hurt, as if she had somehow betrayed him.

"I couldn't."

"Why?"

She turned away from him. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Why didn't you even let us--me...why didn't you let us know you were even alive?" He still had not moved his hand from his face.

_I couldn't get out._

"Niira..."

_Wait...they thought I was dead?_ "They thought I was dead?" She said it in a whisper, more to herself than anyone else in particular.

Lavitz did lower his hand then. Niira got an unfortunate glance at him, and immediately wished she hadn't. She had never seen one person in so much pain before.

Thankfully, it was Albert who clarified that. His voice was soothing after her father's hurt tones. "Everyone thought you had died in the fires."

She couldn't think of how to respond to that. It had never occurred to her before now that her sudden disappearance back then could have been construed as her death. She frowned. _Damn you...I bet that's exactly what you wanted people to think, right Uncle? So you wouldn't have to bother with people coming to look for me. Damn you._ She made a soft sound of disgust that made everyone, even Alakyl, look at her in concern. Niira sighed. "I'm sorry...I...I don't want to talk about it..."

"Why?" Coen said. He sounded irritated. "What happened?"

"I _said_, I don't want to talk about it," Niira growled forcefully at him.

Startled by her sudden change of mood, Coen and Albert both took a step away from her. Lavitz could only stare at her, as if wondering how she could possibly be the same girl he lost nearly fourteen years ago.

_I'm sorry father... I'm not the same person I was back then. I wish I was, but I'm not. I can't change that._

Alakyl could sense Niira's anger and stood, her neck ruff bristling and rust-furred ears turned back. "Rrrruff?"

Niira slowly calmed herself, settling back in her chair, almost exhausted from her outburst.

"Wuff?"

"Nothing," she said to her sister.

"Rrrr..."

Coen gave a short laugh. "Good to see your watchdog is still here. I thought she had taken off for good when we got to Indels."

Alakyl made a series of half-barked sounds.

"She says she doesn't like you." Translating for the wolf was second-nature to Niira.

"I know that, I was just--"

"She also says to stop calling her a watchdog, or she'll bite you where it hurts."

"The wolf...talks?" Albert asked cautiously.

"Wuff!"

"Of course she does. All Northlanders do. Except not many people understand the caniforms. Lucky for you, she's my sister, so I can."

"She's what?" The dull question came from Lavitz. He was staring at the wolf now.

"My sister. The closest thing to a family I had besides my cousins and..." She stopped herself. _I almost included Shining Claw just then._

"So..." the knight said slowly. "You left your family here to go live with your family in the Northlands, and then you leave them to come live back here? Do they at least know you're alive?"

Niira opened and closed her mouth several times, not sure if she should be angry at that or not. "I did not _leave_ you back then. I had no choice in the matter. And I did not _leave_ my mother's family. I didn't have a choice in that either." She tried to relax the hand that had curled itself into a fist. "And yes, they do know I'm alive." She heard herself putting an edge to her words, and was immediately taken aback by her growing aggression.

"That makes no sense," her father commented.

"It would if you had been through it."

"Then why don't you tell us?"

"I can't." _Really? Or do I just not want to? I don't even want to think about it..._

"Why not?" She could hear the same angry edge to Lavitz's speech now.

"I just can't!"

Beside her, Alakyl shifted uncomfortably, as if she would rather be anywhere but in between two angry family members right now. Niira felt a guilty sinking sensation in her stomach. She had only been home...for how long? Not long. And she was already causing strife for others.

Niira shuddered. "I can't do this," she whispered. Before anyone could stop her, she jumped up and fled the room.

She hurried through the old familiar halls of Indels Schloss, fully aware of the single tear that slid down her cheek. _I've not even been here one day, and I'm already turning my back on--no, running from--the people I care about? What am I doing?_ Ignoring the guards, she rushed out into the courtyard, kept going. _Maybe this really wasn't such a good idea. It hurts too much. Everyone's the same, but I'm not, and I can't change that any more. I don't think I can make them understand that._

_Why did I come back?_

_I'm so sorry father._


	10. A Familiar Face

Woo! 10th chapter! Lookit me go!

Sorry this one took so long to get up. I had stuff to do.

-----

Niira wandered the silent streets of Bale, feeling the cool night air settle over her. The spring air was damp, clinging to the exposed skin of her face and arms. She enjoyed it; it was a feeling she hadn't experienced for many years. The Northlands were, for the most part, much drier than Endiness, even in the forested areas. The humidity soothed her, and she walked slowly, hoping it would calm her after the day's events. She didn't know where she was going, and she didn't really care either. As long as she didn't end up back at Indels, or accidentally run into her father or Coen. She wasn't sure she could handle seeing them again.

_But that's what I wanted, wasn't it? To see them again, to be with them, back home, away from my life in the Northlands._

_Then again, my life will always follow me. Alakyl followed me. And this..._ She hooked her thumb in the waist of her pants, where it touched a small chain that was attached to a loop hidden on the inside of the band. She knew all too well the object that hung from the short chain. It had haunted her ever since she had arrived in the north and yet, it was not something she could escape. She wasn't sure she would _want_ to escape it, even if she could.

_Well, if I couldn't be a knight here..._ She thought of her father again; her throat tightened in response. _I'm such an idiot. I probably hurt him more today than he ever suffered after my mother died...or when I 'died.' I come back and say stupid things and then run away. Why am I being so stupid?_

"Fssss..."

The low hiss startled her out of her thoughts. Looking up, she realized she had wandered into the town square; it was dark and empty, and the only sound came from the soft play of the water in the fountain that occupied the center of the area. And the hiss had come from the direction of the fountain. Squinting at it, Niira was able to make out the shape of a man sitting on its edge. He was difficult to see in the moonlight, as he wore no shirt and his dark skin allowed him to disappear into the night. _Huh? He's not from around here. Not from Tiberoa either, they skin isn't _that _dark..._

"You always were one to stir up trouble," the man said with a light Northland accent. Though he spoke in a low voice, the sound carried in the still night air.

_A Northlander? Who?_ Niira didn't reply as she tried to sort things out in her mind. _He's familiar somehow._

He stood then, stretching briefly, and turned to face her. She could make out more details now, like the scars that criss-crossed his body. Not battle scars, but rather, appearing as if they had been made on purpose, some sadistic form of body decoration. "I was beginning to wonder how long it would take for you to play the troublemaker again. More correctly, how long it would be before I'd have to clean up the mess for you."

Niira blinked. _Who _is_ this man?_ The only people she knew of in either Endiness or the Northlands who would purposely scar their bodies were the hyaeniforms, the mountain people of the North. She had only seen a few before, some guardsmen who worked under her uncle, and...

She remembered him then. The man who had served as her mother's bodyguard when she traveled to Endiness, a surly hyaeniform who preferred to live and work by himself. He had stayed in Bale to watch over Niira after her mother's death. _Has he stayed here all these years I've been away? Did he have nowhere to go, or was he just being patient?_ "...Marach?" In the Northland language, Bead Pouncer--a reference to the scarred patterns on his body, and the trinkets he loved to wear in his hair.

He grinned, his teeth glistening white in the moonlight. "Took you long enough to remember. Did I not leave a big enough impression on you or something? I could certainly fix that..."

"It's just...been a long day." Niira sighed softly. _Understatement of the year._

"So I've heard."

"You've heard about it?"

"I saw you walk into the city with the Third Knighthood. I know that Lavitz is back as well. And now you're wandering around looking as miserable as a house cat thrown out in the rain. I made some assumptions."

_I feel like a house cat in the rain._

"Well?"

"Sorry. Just have a lot on my mind."

"Hmm." Marach had never been one to go into matters of emotion and family. He was notorious for his lack of understanding in those subjects. "Wandering around for no purpose never did anyone any good."

"Then what were you doing out here?"

"I was sitting. Not wandering."

"Oh." _Mr. Literalist strikes again. Hasn't changed a bit. _"Well, what do you suggest I do instead?"

"Go find a place to sleep like any other normal human would be doing at this hour."

"Uh-huh." _Not like I have a place to stay, now..._

As if reading her mind, Bead Pouncer pointed behind him, across the square. "Your grandmother's never turned anyone away. Better to stay with her than outdoors." Marach himself spent most of his nights sleeping in the forests west of Bale.

"It's not like I haven't slept outside before."

"Don't talk back at me. You may be older now, but I am still your guardian. Now go."

Her eyes going wide with surprise, Niira found herself mumbling a "yes, sir" before scurrying off.


	11. An Old Familiar Face

Yes, yes, the hyaeniforms are another Northlander type, with a hyena-like animal form. I just chose to spell it differently because it makes me that much cooler. :D

So Niira's wandering around Bale at night, headed to her grandmother's house. And we all know how much fun Lavitz's mother is. Indeed. Also, she is never given a name in the game, so I just kinda...made up my own.

Thanks to the people in the legenddragoon community over on LiveJournal for helping me figure out descriptive terms relating to Basil :D.

-----

Marach was right of course, about her grandmother never turning anyone away. There were many times as a child that Niira had woken to find strangers in the house, people fleeing Sandora and the terrifying reign of the Emperor. Not that she had understood most of that situation at her young age. All she knew was that it would take her father away for months on end, leaving her sitting at home and wondering if she would ever see him again.

Niira was somehow surprised that her grandmother was still alive. Then again, the more she thought about it, the more it seemed natural. Of course her grandmother was still alive. She couldn't be all that old. _Okay, then again, she could be._ Niira smirked to herself. Her grandmother was such an unstoppable person, perhaps she could even stop death. Again the half-blood smiled, amused at this train of thought.

She had been standing outside of her grandmother's house for several minutes by this time. Finally, she looked up, past the eaves to the stars above. Niira had actually grown up in two houses, the one that stood before her, and her father's smaller house close to Indels Schloss. Lavitz had always seemed reluctant to have his daughter live at that house, due to its proximity to the knights' barracks and training grounds. As if Niira would be influenced by the soldiers in ways that were not lady-like. The First Knight tended to worry about that a lot, hence why they had spent more time at his mother's house instead.

Not that it had mattered in the end. Niira had found her own ways to be around the knights, had watched them and taught herself how to fight. Any attempt to get her to act like others of her gender usually ended in a disaster of some sort.

Niira hesitantly stepped to the front door, wondering if it was too late at night to be knocking. A few windows of the house were lit from within, the soft orange-yellow glow of candles and fireplaces. So it wasn't too late. Someone was still awake. _I wonder if Grandma Maeja's got any 'visitors' now, or if she just likes to keep a lot of rooms lit at night._ Shakily, she reached up and nervously tapped on the door.

There was no sound from within. Niira's face twitched into a hopeless expression. _Nothing's going right tonight._ Then, she could hear someone stepping across the front room, heading for the door. Niira froze in the beam of light that fell on her as the door opened.

The old lady who stood inside looked up at her questioningly, although she wore a friendly smile. She was still dressed in her day clothes; obviously she had been busy with something only moments before.

_So I guess there _is _someone else staying here tonight. She's probably busy cooking them enough food to keep them fed for three winters._

"May I help you, young lady?"

"I...um..." Niira suddenly realized she had no idea what to say. Should she say she was just passing through, and had been told she could room here for the night? Or should she go ahead and just announce who she was? She stared at her grandmother, suddenly feeling very small in her indecisiveness. Maeja waited patiently, as if she was used to such a reaction. "I...I'm home, Adie." She had called her grandmother 'Adie' when she was younger; it was a Basilian term of endearment for older women.

The woman blinked up at her, as if trying to figure out what she meant by that. Then she smiled broadly, hurrying forward to wrap her arms around Niira. "So you have...so you have... I always knew you would come back."

_Wow. Was she just being optimistic or has she really gone crazy?_ "Yeah...um...I guess so."

Maeja released her. "Oh child, how you've grown. Does your father know you're here?"

"...Yes. He does."

Her grandmother missed the pained tone of her voice, instead taking Niira by the wrist and dragging her inside. "Come, you must have something to eat!"

"No, that's not necessary."

"Of course it is. Don't worry, I can fix you up some soup and bread real fast now. It won't take long at all."

"Well...all right." She had forgotten how insistent her Adie could be when she got an idea in her head.

Maeja scurried off to the kitchen. "I'm sure you want to look around the house and see how much hasn't changed." She laughed a bit. "There are some people in your old room though, sorry."

"It's okay." Niira stood in the front room, almost uncomfortable with being in the memory-filled place once more.

"I'll call you when the food's ready."

Niira rubbed her wrist, which her grandmother had squeezed mercilessly in her excitement. Finally, she breathed deeply, and mounted the nearby stairs.

The family's bedrooms were on the second level of the house. Niira had slept in the room next to the library as a girl; it was almost directly across the hallway from her father's room. He had always said that was so he could hear her if she decided to sneak around at night, which she was known to do. Not only around the house, but outside as well. Once she had figured out that the window in the library led to the roof of the house, and the roof led to the roofs of other houses, she would spend her nights using her cat-like abilities--or her feline form itself--to jump around, high above the streets below. Much to the dismay of her family. Her nighttime expeditions never ceased to be a source of heart attacks for them.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she eyed her old room door to her left. It was closed, and soft voices could be heard from the other side. _Oh, right. Random people in the house again._

Instead, she turned to the right, reaching out her hand in the dim light. Her fingers brushed against another door. She gave a soft push, and to her surprise, the door opened, revealing a dark room within. She looked at it for a moment, then stepped inside, as she had done so many times in her youth.

-----

_She burst from her room, making a straight line for the door across the hall. She hit it hard; it swung open in response. With a burst of energy, she took a flying leap at the end of the bed within the room. She landed on her hands and knees and, grinning, crawled across the bed to the man who was still asleep--or rather, now awake. She pounced his shoulder, flopping onto the blankets next to him. "Come ooooon," she pleaded, playfully tugging at the blankets. "You said we could do stuff today!"_

_The man groaned softly, rolling over, pulling the blankets back over him. "Niira, if you don't get out of my room this minute..."_

_She knew what that meant. Squealing, she jumped back from him, but too late. The knight had flung his arm out, catching her in a headlock. "No!" the child shrieked, half giggling. "Noooo! Let go! Eeeeeep!" She knew how well noise could distract someone, and she made sure not to let a silent moment pass as she wriggled in her father's grasp, unable to escape._

_"I warned you." He sat up, dragging his daughter with him. "Don't you _ever_ wake me early on my days off!" He tousled her hair until it was a hopeless mess._

_"NO! Stop! Errr...let go!" Bracing her feet against his side, she pushed hard, trying to get out of his solid grip. He let go of her then, and she suddenly found herself tumbling backwards and over the edge of the bed. She hit the wood floor with a loud clunk. "Mff. Ow."_

-----

The bed was where it had always stood--within pounce distance from the door. Niira smirked.

One of the wooden posts that supported the wall and ceiling also still stood. She wandered to it, running her hand along its surface. They stopped at about waist height, caught in a series of grooves. _Still here, huh? Well, why wouldn't they be?_ One of those notches belonged to her. She was six then, and she had been measuring herself against another mark in the wood--one her father had made when he was that age.

She had always looked up to her father, always tried her best to follow in his footsteps, though she would have never been able to in the end. _Is that why he was always so upset with me playing with boys? Did he want to save me heartache later by showing me what I _could_ do instead?_ Niira frowned.

Even when her mother had been alive, Niira had preferred to be a tomboy, taking part in the boys' rough war games. Although she had never been the fair maiden the warriors were sent to save. The boys had quickly learned never to suggest it to her, or they would get a swift beating with a stave. She wanted to be equal to them, or nothing.

"Niira?" Maeja's voice came from the hallway. "Food's ready."

"Coming."

"You can sleep in this room if you want. I'm sure--"

Niira turned to her suddenly. "No, I'll sleep downstairs."

The elderly woman frowned. "I'm sure your father wouldn't mind."

"I know. It just...wouldn't feel right."

"All right. Well, come on then, before your dinner gets cold."


	12. The Cliffs By the River

Ever wonder what it was exactly that everyone thought killed Niira all those years ago? Well, prepare yourself, for all (er...most) shall be revealed! As well as...more questions which will not be answered until much later! MWAHAHA ahem.

-----

It really hadn't hit him until that morning. She was alive. Years of sadness and loneliness suddenly gone. But instead of feeling relieved or glad, Coen felt himself sinking into the familiar mindset of confusion and stress. His sleep the previous night had been dreamless--once he had actually fallen asleep, that is. Niira's sudden departure from Indels had unsettled him, as well as Lavitz and King Albert, greatly. The Niira he had known as a child would not have done that. So what had happened to her to change her so? What secrets wasn't she telling?

_Well, it's not like I can say anything. I haven't told her anything either._

That train of thought preoccupied him as he rode his horse out of Bale that morning, northeast from the city, across the fields and meadows. The grass was still damp with dew, and even the birds were just waking to sing. Coen found comfort in the stillness, and he often rode out alone when he had to think.

_But how? How did she survive the fire? I don't understand._ The fires in Bale nearly fourteen years ago. To this day, no one knew what--or who--had caused them. There were rumors that the Black Monster had not found its target when the Moon the Never Sets turned red ten years prior, and had moved to Bale to continue its search. Others thought it was Imperial Sandora's doing, although the Emperor denied it, and indeed there was no evidence linking Doel to the razing of Bale.

Coen closed his eyes, letting his horse pick its own path across the countryside. He had been there, with Niira, when the fires came. He recalled all too clearly running away from the flames, desperately trying to find a way out. And then...the Monster.

He was the only one who saw the Monster. But it was no Black Monster, rather, it looked like a Fire Monster. All he remembered was the Monster coming between himself and Niira...and then they were gone. He was left alone in the smoke and flames, the ash searing his lungs and eyes. He couldn't even remember who it was that had pulled him to safety.

That night, as he had waited for his father to find him in one of the medical tents, he had listened to the men who had organized themselves to stop the fire and search for survivors. Mostly members of the First Knighthood, as they had been the first to arrive.

The _pain..._

He remembered how Lavitz searched for Niira nearly the entire day, until he had been forced to stop due to the smoke he had inhaled and his lieutenant Kynan's insistence. But that hadn't kept the First Knight down for long.

His searches were in vain, and Coen knew it even at his young age. Niira was gone. Everyone assumed she had died in the fires, and Coen had been too terrified and in pain to correct them.

And mistake he had tried to right years later, with nearly fatal consequences.

He grit his teeth. _How can I ever explain that to her?_

Once again looking at his surroundings, he guided his horse in a more northerly direction. There were some cliffs in that direction, above a river. He had spent more than a few nights on the edge of those cliffs in past years. Instinctively, he shuddered. _Why am I going back there? I don't like that place, the memories of it..._ But he made no move to correct his mount's course.

_Who was the Monster in the flames?_ He knew the story of the Black Monster, how she had turned out to be Rose the Darkness Dragoon, trying to save the world. Coen had met some of the dragoons after the war, seen their armor and the awesome powers of their magic. It all led him to wonder if the Monster in the flames had been a dragoon as well.

_But...it was not at all like the red Fire Dragoon armor that I've heard about. Nothing like him. And I may not be terribly knowledgeable in areas such as this, but I thought there was only one Red-Eye Dragoon at any time...none of this makes sense._

_I wish Niira would tell me._

He sighed softly. In the distance, he could make out a dark smudge along the ground. The cliffs. _Those damned cliffs. If Niira ever knew what almost happened there, I would never hear the end of it._ He smirked, not without a hint of sorrow. _If she ever knew what drove me to the cliffs in the first place, I'd never hear the end of it._

His horse raised its head slightly, turning one ear back.

"Hmm?" Coen scratched its gray leathery neck. "What's that? Hear something?" The horse had both ears back now, to listen to its master. "There's nothing here. Just me."

As he sat back up, he did hear a soft pounding in the distance. Curious, he twisted around in the saddle to look behind him. Someone was riding towards him, the horse moving at a slow canter. Coen halted his own mount and waited for the person to arrive. The rider's face slowly became more clear, and Coen recognized him. He sighed to himself. _What now?_

Within a few minutes, the newcomer had come within talking range. "Thought you might be out here."

"What would ever give you that idea?" Coen said sourly. "This had better be good Radulf, I don't appreciate having my free time interrupted."

His lieutenant made an apologetic noise, but still wore his customary smile. "Lavitz wants to talk with you."

"Then why didn't he come out himself?"

"I'm not about to question the First Knight when he's in the kind of mood he's been in lately."

Grumpy at having his angsty thoughts interrupted, Coen nonetheless turned his horse back to Bale. "What's he want to talk to me about this time?"

"Didn't ask."

"Don't you ever ask anything?"

"Of course I do. I always ask for a pint when I go to a bar."


	13. I Want to Run

Yeah, yeah, Radulf's always like that :p. How can you not like an old knight with a sense of humor? As for the cliffs in the previous chapter, of course they're important, in some small way, but you'll have to wait to find out why. ((Side note--updated the previous chapter to fix a few grammatical mistakes.))

As to the question every original character fanfic writer gets asked--will the canon characters make an appearance? Well obviously, Lavitz and Albert already have. The others...well... Let it suffice to say that they're definitely not going to show up any time soon, if they ever do. It's not like I have anything against them, they're just not the focus of the story.

Anyway, moving on. Prepare for a long chapter. Time to talk a bit more about Niira...

-----

Niira had slept in one of the downstairs rooms that night. She had curled up on top of the blankets, not even bothering to change out of her day clothes, and soon fallen asleep. She was so exhausted by the day's events that she didn't even move during her sleep, waking to find herself in the same position. Curled up on her side like a scared kitten.

She didn't wake fully at first. With a growling sigh, she managed to grab one side of the blankets and pull it over her head, attempting to fall asleep again. She could hear people talking elsewhere in the house, and she decided to ignore them. Somewhere outside, a dog was barking incessantly. Groaning, Niira rolled onto her stomach, wrapping herself in a blanket cocoon. _Warm...sleep..._

The dog kept barking. As the noise brought her mind to full awareness, Niira came to the realization that it wasn't a dog at all. Canine yes, but not a dog. _Wolf...? Alakyl?_

_Oh!_ Niira quickly sat up, blinking away what tiredness remained. She pawed at her tunic, smoothing it back down. Looking around for her boots, she scrambled to pull them on as she half-hopped out of the room.

As she staggered past the dining room, she was greeted by her grandmother. "Good morning dear!" Maeja called cheerfully. "I was beginning to wonder if I should wake you."

"I wouldn't have done anything," said a strange voice. Niira paused just long enough to glance into the dining room, where a man sat at the table with what Niira assumed was his wife. She idly wondered who they were, what had brought them to Bale, but she quickly pushed aside those questions.

"If that beast out there," the man continued, waving his cup-bearing hand towards the window, "couldn't wake her, I doubt you could."

"Would you like some breakfast, Niira?" her grandmother asked.

"Er...no, I'd better...um..." _Go make Alakyl shut up._ She tried to think of how to explain that.

But explanations didn't matter. Her grandmother just smiled and shrugged. "Well, if you must...perhaps I'll see you later then?" The woman was accustomed to people coming and going very quickly--even her own family. Being the only woman in a family of knights for as long as she had, it was a necessary adaptation she had been forced to make.

"Of course," Niira said quickly, still attuned to the sound of Alakyl's barking outside. Stepping forward to give her grandmother a quick hug, she rushed out the front door into the bright sunlight.

Almost immediately, she was confronted by her irate wolf-sister. Alakyl glared up at her, pale purple eyes narrowed. When she didn't say anything, Niira herself grew irritated. "What?" she snapped.

Alakyl let out a string of growls almost too fast for Niira to keep up with. "_You worried all them...very upset... What...?_ Wuff!"

"I _know_! You don't have to lecture me." In a huff, Niira turned and started stalking along the street.

The wolf followed, her claws clicking softly on the stone-cobbled street. "_Where you going?_"

"Don't know. Don't care." Niira felt like lashing her tail back and forth in frustration, but then she remembered her human form didn't have a tail. "What are you doing out here anyway? Don't you think an orange-ish wolf walking around in the middle of a city in broad daylight is a bit, I dunno, suspicious?"

"_No. Why?_"

Niira sighed. Alakyl was not always aware that the people of Endiness were not familiar with the Northland island wolves, or that the humans were used to the wild, sometimes violent, forest wolves of their own continent. Alakyl still didn't understand that after her near-death encounter with Coen weeks ago.

"_Why you sleepin' over here?_"

"It's my grandmother's house."

"_Oh. Why?_"

"Because she's the only person who didn't flip out after seeing me."

"_Oh._" The wolf was silent for a few steps. "_We gonna stay here?_"

"Yeah. At least, until Shining Claw figures out where I am. Again."

"Grr."

"You aren't the one who had to live with him."

"Hmm. _What we do here?_"

"I don't know." Niira hadn't thought of that. _It's not like I can just up and abandon Serpent Mother and the others. I mean, it's my fate, isn't it? I just couldn't live there anymore. But just sitting around and waiting to be called by her to fight is boring._ "Well..."

"Mrrf?"

"My mother never got a chance to complete her task. I guess it's kinda on my shoulders now."

"_You talk to Serpent Mother?_"

"No...don't you know anything about the Seventh? I mean, Serpent Mother kinda raised you and all..."

"_No._"

"Well can't you ask her?"

"_No. Can't talk. Not that good. She can't sense Seventh anyway, not exact. Only through help._"

"Like my mother, yeah." Niira couldn't remember her mother very well herself, but she had heard plenty of stories from Marach, Happy Tail, her uncle, and others. Her mother was one of the few Northlanders who could sense, and to some extent manipulate, magic naturally. She traveled to Endiness to act as focusing point for Serpent Mother's own powers. Whether or not Niira had these powers, she didn't know. The mysterious demi-goddess Serpent Mother would not tell her.

_The Seventh and the Three...they have to make things so damn complicated right when we don't need complications._ "I don't think we'd be able to do it on our own, anyway. So I guess it's a moot point."

"Hmmph? _Were you not watching?_"

"Watching what?"

"_Last night. When you were talking to them. Feel it?_"

Niira didn't answer at first. "No, I can't say I was paying any particular attention to anyone else."

"_That's your problem._"

"Shut up." She said this as they walked by a man sitting in front of his house. He gave them a suspicious look. _Yes, I am talking to a wolf. Just ignore us and get on with your life._

"_Maybe it was after you left...yeah..._Rff."

"What?"

"_Not on our own. They help us._"

"Who? What are you talking about?"

"_There are dragoons here._"

Niira paused in her walking. She had heard stories from the guardsmen in the Northlands about the human dragoons. Ancient warriors that fought against the winglies, and who were awakened recently to fight once more. _Much like us... _They had been the cause of the disappearance of the Moon That Never Sets; even though the Moon had always sat low on the Northlanders' horizon, they had come to accept it as just another part of the scenery. Its disappearance caused quite a fuss among them. "What makes you think there are dragoons here in Bale?"

Alakyl hummed to herself for a bit. "_Resonance._"

_Resonance?_ She idly fingered the chain that hung from her belt, tucked into her pants. _Resonating with what? None of our dragoons are in Endiness. So...human dragoons? And if Alakyl felt that in the room in Indels, then..._

_Someone in the room is a dragoon._ Niira froze with that realization. Only Coen, Albert, and her father had been in there with her and Alakyl. Which mean that one of the men was a dragoon. Someone she knew. _I think my brain just exploded._

"Wuff?"

Bringing herself out of her mini-trance, Niira shook her head slightly. "We shouldn't go around involving others in our war."

"_Agree._ Hmm."

"So...neither you nor I can really talk to Serpent Mother easily, and we need to let her know we'd like to search for the Seventh." _Once again, my plans are foiled._

"_What...dog-face?_"

"Huh? Oh...Bead Pouncer? Marach?"

Alakyl nodded.

_I do remember him being pretty fanatical about following Serpent Mother. At any rate, I don't think Happy Tail could fly fast enough back to her._ "Well...might as well ask him if he can. We don't have many other options. Do you know where he is?"

"Wuff. _No. We go find!_"

-----

The one place Niira remembered Bead Pouncer staying at the most was the forest just beyond the knights' training grounds at Indels Schloss. She could recall him just sitting there, watching the knights, or staring off somewhere. He disliked being around humans unless he had an important reason to be among them, but he couldn't exactly just leave Niira's mother, or Niira herself, in Bale and travel by himself. So he stayed as far away as he felt he could get away with, usually only coming into Bale at night or when he had to talk to Niira's mother.

He hadn't changed. He was sitting in one of the trees when Niira and Alakyl finally found him. He was leaned back against the trunk, his legs stretched out along the branches, sharp toe-claws holding him in place. He didn't even look at them as they approached.

"Marach?" Niira called up to him. "Can you help us with something?"

"What?"

"We need to talk to Serpent Mother, and...um...yeah, neither of us is really any good at it..."

"What for?"

"Wuff!"

"We were going to let her know we're ready to search for the Seventh."

He snorted, turning his white-furred head so he could look at them. "You think you could find the Seventh?"

"I don't know."

"What makes you think he could be convinced to fight for us again anyway?"

"...I don't know. But Serpent Mother obviously thought my mother could get him to."

Marach shook his head. "So you've just come back, and now you're going to run off again? Feh." He stretched briefly. "No, I'm not going to help you."

"Marach!"

He turned his ears back, scowling. "I may not be a genius at these sorts of things, but it's not going to be to anyone's benefit to have you running around Endiness when you've just come back after being 'dead' for thirteen years."

Neither Niira nor Alakyl replied. Niira only looked to the ground, toeing the grass. He was right, of course. _But I'm so scared...look at all the hurt I've caused already._

"Maybe once you get those things figured out, I'll help you. The Seventh can wait until then. War isn't here just yet."

-----

The Three? Serpent Mother? The Seventh? A war? WTF are you on, Dino? (too little sleep and finals week stress, that's what!)

It is so hard to talk about these things without revealing too much too soon.


	14. Purpose

All right! Time for some explanations to the questions from the last chapter!

-----

Alakyl padded along the path to the castle, walking in the long shadows cast by the setting sun. Despite Marach's insistence that Niira should be with her father right now, she had gone off and wandered through Bale again. All of the situation confused Alakyl. She had never really known her family, as she had been kicked out by her community at a very young age. Ever since Niira's mother, then a mere child herself, had come to the island and pointed out the Chaos Dragoon who lived in the midsts.

_I never asked for this. I guess Niira didn't either. That's why we have to stick together._

It had only gotten worse once she had been taken in by Serpent Mother. She had only been a pup then, and she was suddenly thrust into her secret double life as the one thing that could assure Serpent Mother's victory over her opponents.

It had been secret, until the enemy had found out anyway. And then war loomed closer every day. _Soon. Very soon._

She shook her head from those thoughts. _Not yet though. Let's have fun until then._

Alakyl had wandered around the barracks earlier that day, after Niira's moody wanderings had bored her. She eventually took to following Niira's father Lavitz around, making sure to give her customary growl to Coen when he arrived. But then she had grown bored of being around the knights and walked back into the city.

She had become bored again and decided to find Lavitz. _Maybe make something exciting happen. Like Marach said. Get Lavitz, find Niira, let them talk. Exciting!_

_But where is Niira? Maybe back at her grandmother's house._

Lavitz actually found her first. He walked out of the front gate of Indels Schloss just as Alakyl passed it. "Oh, you're back?"

"Wuff!" She barked happily.

The knight sighed; he appeared exhausted. "Wish I felt as good right now." He still acted as if talking to a 'dumb' animal was something completely against his nature, even if that animal was his daughter's sister-friend.

"_Talk to Niira?_"

He only stared at her.

Frustrated, Alakyl crouched, then did a small jump, half-flipping so that she was facing back to the city. "_Talk to Niira?_"

"Someone wants to talk to me?" He was getting better at guessing what she said.

The wolf sighed. "_Close enough._"

-----

Now that the boarders had left, Niira finally had her old room back. Things still sat where they always had, at least as far as she could remember. Even her bed was still there, with the trunk that sat next to the headboard.

But at last she had a place to leave at least some of her possessions that she had brought with her, however few they were. One she took great care to hide in an easily-accessible spot was the small rod she carried on her back, under her shirt. She carried it there so that she could reach it quickly, but still appear harmless. She drew it now, looking at it as it gleamed dully in the candlelight. Then she slid it under her pillow.

It was a weapon designed by the hyaeniforms, the secretive mountain folk who still used technology from the Before Times--technology that had, eventually, been stolen and copied by the Winglies. She had received it as a gift from one of the guardsmen that worked under her uncle. A gift such as that spoke of trust, and a respect for someone's skill in battle. She was sure to never give the guardsman a reason to regret giving it to her.

Anyone who dared to attack her would only see a girl with a metal rod as long as her forearm in her hand. But with a flick of the wrist, that rod would extend into a long staff, and a single blade would snap into position at the end. In a moment, she could switch from a simple girl to an armed and dangerous warrior.

It was one thing she would not give up for anything. _Well...almost anything._ But the look of surprise on an aggressor's face when the newly-appeared bladed weapon came slicing up through their face never ceased to amuse Niira.

She sighed heavily, disgusted at that line of thought. _I must really be insane. _Enjoying_ hurting people? Meh._

The city beyond her window was growing dark, but she didn't feel tired. Stepping quietly so as not to disturb her Adie downstairs, she slipped out of her room, down the hall to the library.

The library was obviously still in use, although some of the higher shelves had a faded, dusty look to them. The room had to potential to be quite comfortable, if anyone had a mind to properly maintain it. Niira ran her hand down a row of books, letting her fingers bounce across the large bumps of the book spines. There were probably some very old and valuable tomes in here, but nobody had probably bothered to check in generations.

_I'm surprised Albert hasn't done something about that, with the way he loves books. Then again, I suppose he's too busy ruling and all. Man, if Reezy was here, we'd never get him to leave...there just aren't enough books for him in the Northlands..._

A single window was thee only source of outside light for the library. But with the direction the room faced, and the sun nearly down, very little light made its way in. Niira stood on her toes to reach the window and pulled it open. When she had been young, she would simply take a running jump at the windowsill, hanging on while she swung her back end up, then off across the rooftops she would go. Now, though, she didn't feel like expending the energy. _I'd probably end up pulling the sill out of the wall anyway._ Groping around in the nearby shadows, she found the familiar ladder. Quietly pulling it over, she positioned it beneath the window and climbed up. In the twilight, the city was still and quiet, although faint conversations could be heard from within the neighbor's houses.

Niira carefully stepped across the tiled roof; although she still trusted her balance, it had been years since she had walked on tiles and she didn't want to take any chances. When she was close--but not _too_ close--to the edge, she sat down, drawing her knees to her chest. _This 'treasure'..._ Across the rooftops, on a hill in the distance, stood Indels Schloss, barely visible in the nearly-gone sunlight. _You gave me this treasure, father. I wanted to be just like you._ She rested her chin on her knees, looking up at the stars that were beginning to appear in the dark sky.

She could hear muffled footsteps from somewhere in the house. Thinking it was her grandmother, she turned her attention back to the view. But soon she realized that the steps were too heavy to be from an elderly woman. She shivered, suddenly feeling chilled. _I don't want to face him yet...again..._

In a few minutes, the footsteps came from the library. Shortly after, Niira was not the only person on the roof. Her father walked across the shingles and sat next to her, silent. Niira felt strangely unnerved by his presence. Right then she wanted nothing more than to hide somewhere and curl up in a ball.

"What made you finally decide to come back?" Lavitz said suddenly.

"I had to," Niira mumbled into her knees.

"Or what?"

She closed her eyes. _I can't...I don't know how to explain..._

Thankfully, her father didn't push the subject. But he didn't talk again either, as if he was hurt by her refusal to answer.

Trying to find something to say, Niira finally came up with, "Did my mother ever tell you why she and Marach came to Endiness?" _...Why did I say that?_

"All we ever got was the botany story." Meaning the explanation that her mothere had come to Endiness to study the plants and look for ones with possible medicinal value to Northlanders. Nobody ever seemed to completely believe that, although her mother certainly did do a lot of studying while she was in Endiness. But no other explanation had ever been given.

_I shouldn't be talking about this...but...it seems wrong for it to have been withheld for so long..._

"Why? You know more about it, don't you?"

"They..." She stopped herself, trying to think of the best way to explain without going through a whole history of the Northlands. It would be difficult, and she was never good at these sorts of things to begin with. "The humans--Endiness, I mean--had dragon warriors at one time in the past. I heard stories about them from my..." _Whoa, I almost said 'uncle' there._ "...From some people in the Northlands."

"They knew about it up there?"

"The Winglies tried...well no, they did kill off some races there. So we've been in touch for a while." She glanced at her father. Her was watching her with a calm face, his features barely distinguishable in the moonlight. Taking a breath, Niira started here story again. "Anyway...the Northlands had their own dragoons at one time. They fought in one of our ancient wars, and then...four disappeared. Maybe they were killed, I can't remember. Legend says the other three put themselves into a sleep so they could be awakened to fight later or something. Serpent Mother says it's true, so I guess that's how things are." She hesitated. She always got the feeling she was rambling when she told stories like this.

"Who's Serpent Mother?" Lavitz asked, startling her. "Marach's mentioned her, but he always acted offended whenever we asked him."

"She's...um...she's a god of sorts, I suppose. A very old Northlander who watches over us. I'm honestly not sure how to describe her...she's got strange powers and she's been alive longer than any of us, like she's immortal or something, but she's always acted like anyone could kill her if they put their mind to it."

"Hmm."

"There's a second immortal. Phoenix. Serpent Mother was teaching him all the goings-on of being ageless, but something happened and he turned against her. That was a long time ago, nobody can remember exactly when that happened. Ever since then, the Northlands have been divided. Like everyone's waiting for somebody to make the first move, and then there'll be a war between the two gods and their followers."

"He was the one the dragoons fought against?"

"No. At least, I don't think so. I think he appeared some time after that war."

"What does this have to do with your mother?"

"I'm getting there. I mentioned the Three, the dragoons that are sleeping. Well that still leaves four unaccounted for. And with this war between Serpent Mother and Phoenix on the horizon, there's been a push to find those four. A few generations ago, someone in my mother's family found and was accepted by one of the dragon spirits, and it's remained in the family ever since. Guess magic just runs in the blood or something, because my mother could sense it. She was used by Serpent Mother to search for the dragoon spirits. And she did find one, on one of the islands to the east."

Again she glanced at her father. The strange look on his face told her everything she needed to know. _He's heard the stories. When dragoons gather, need is great, war is near._

"And then Serpent Mother sent her to Endiness to find the remaining two."

"What were they doing in Endiness?"

"Darn if I know. All Serpent Mother told her was that they could be found down here. She even sent one of her personal guards, Marach, to help my mother." Niira found herself toying with the chain that hid beneath her pants waist, against her hip. "But mother wasn't told she wouldn't find either of them. One, the Seventh, had already found a dragoon spirit years ago, way back when the Winglies still ruled, and had since run off and disappeared. The final one wasn't even alive yet."

"So she failed in her task?"

"I never said that."

"Then what--" He fell silent as Niira pulled on the chain, drawing up a small round stone from its hidden pocket, holding it in the palm of her hand so he could see it. Its glossy black surface seemed to draw in the starlight, releasing it again as a soft glow.

"I said the last one wasn't born yet."

She could feel the stone thrumming, as if charged with energy. _Odd._ It startd to glow, giving off a rainbow-esque light that streamed from its core. _Huh. I wonder if Alakyl's nearby..._

But it wasn't Alakyl the stone was reacting to. Her father was holding a similar stone, although jade-green in color, and it too glowed in response to a kindred spirit.

_Did...did my mother sense someone with the potential to be a dragoon and not even realize it?_ Niira could only stare at the green dragon spirit. _Did Serpent Mother somehow know my mother would marry a dragoon-to-be? I know dragon spirits like to stick to families, but..._

_My father is a dragoon._ Something about that realization mad her feel warmer inside.

Lavitz was chuckling softly. It was a friendly sound. "No wonder you gave my men such a hard time the other day."

Flustered, Niira stuffed her dragoon spirit back into its hiding place, extinguishing its light. "No, that had nothing to do with the spirit. I was just mad."

"I guess it's nice to know that you still beat people up when you're angry." Her father lowered his dragoon spirit as well, and they once again sat in darkness.

"I don't mean to."

They were silent for a while. "So, that still leaves that one who ran away, right?"

"Yes." Niira wrapped her arms around her legs. "I...suppose one of these days I'll have to go find him. Since it was my mother's job to begin with." _If I can ever get Marach to cooperate._

"You never know, he could find you."

"I doubt it." Serpent Mother had told her things about the Seventh that made her skin crawl. No, the Seventh would have to be sought out. And possibly even killed to win back the dragon spirit he possessed.

It had to be done, but that didn't mean Niira looked forward to it.


	15. A New Arrival

Sorry this took so long to get up. Just finished finals week, yay.

So, there was a question about whether or not Alakyl could change forms. The answer is: no, she can't. Short explanation is that her race lost the ability to do so a long time ago--legend says they just never had a use for the human form on their islands, so they lost it. Additional answer is that there are some Northland wolves who can still walk around on two legs, like most other Northland races, but it's a very rare occurrence (Alakyl obviously is not one of these) and they cannot change to a human form. They generally keep to themselves, so don't expect to see one in the story.

I only mention this here because it's not talked about in the story, at least in the draft I have right now. It's really not that important anyway, but I guess it's nice to know :).

-----

Coen slowly swung his sword at the low-hanging branch, neatly cutting one leaf from it. The green foliage floated downward lazily. He impaled it quickly on the end of his weapon. The knight had spent many days in his past doing this. He tended to be idly destructive towards vegetation when bored, or stressed. He certainly felt a bit of both now that he was back in Bale.

He had no idea where Niira had been the past few days. He had seen Alakyl wandering around, but Niira herself remained hidden. It frustrated him, that his old friend would avoid him like this.

_Or maybe I'm avoiding her. Who can tell any more?_

He was so deep in his thoughts that he visibly jumped when someone spoke from behind him. "Are you going to strip that tree leaf by leaf or what?"

Coen turned around to find Niira sitting on the low wall that surrounded the knights' areas behind Indels. "How long have you been watching me?"

She smirked and dropped to her feet. "Does it matter? Where have you been the past few days?"

"Where have _I_ been? I think the better question is where _you've_ been. I haven't seen you since we first got back here."

Niira shrugged. "Just...working things out with my father."

"I see."

"I was looking for you earlier. Kept getting sent all over Indels. I was beginning to get the feeling that you were avoiding me."

_I wasn't doing it on purpose._ "I've been around." Coen gave his sword a shake, freeing it from the leaf. He never avoided anyone on purpose, he just had times when he preferred to be alone. That fact that being alone was not in Coen's best interests was something that Radulf had needed to remind him of repeatedly over the years. "What do you want?"

Niira shrugged off-handedly. "I was bored."

"What, your guard dog isn't around to keep you company?"

"She does what she wants. Whether or not I like it."

"Right." He smirked. "So I take it things worked out with your father after all, huh?"

"Yeah. Maybe." She looked distracted for a moment. "You could have told me he was a dragoon."

"What? Oh, that. It didn't occur for me to tell you."

"It didn't occur to you."

"Yeah." He sheathed his sword. "I've never seen him fight as a dragoon. So it doesn't occur to me."

"Uh-huh."

Coen was about to reply to her when he saw a shape hurtling towards them. _And here comes Mr. Coordinated..._

Happy Tail burst in on their conversation with a fluttering of feathered wings and a loud "oomf!" as he landed on the stone wall. He spent a few moments righting and balancing himself before speaking. "Niira! Finally... There's someone at the front gate of Indels who says he's looking for you. A feliform."

Coen noticed Niira's stance become tense. "Who?" she asked.

"He says he's your cousin. Sir Lavitz is with him. Don't think he's very happy, no."

The half-blood relaxed again. "Guess I should go see him."

"Guess so," Coen muttered.  
"You know him? Niira! Who is he?" Happy Tail was fairly hopping from foot to foot.

"You can come if you like," Niira said to Coen, ignoring the avian's excitement.

The young knight held back. He wasn't so sure he wanted to get involved in Niira's family issues, after seeing Lavitz as distraught as he was a few days earlier.

"I'm pretty sure he won't be as biased as Alakyl."

"I...well..."

His indecision was solved as Niira took hold of his loose sleeve and dragged him along. _I don't know how much more excitement I can take this week..._

Happy Tail trotted along beside them, his winged arms tucked neatly against his flanks. "I hope you can at least straighten this out with your father. He's not happy, nope."

-----

Lavitz was standing just inside the courtyard of Indels, his armor gleaming in the sunlight. He had his arms crossed over his chest and gave Niira a rather severe look as they approached. "Is there anything _else_ you're not telling me?" He sounded worried and tired more than angry, but Niira still flinched beside Coen.

"_Niira!_"

It was Coen's turn to flinch, started by the shrill shout. For a moment, he though Niira had shifted into her feline form. Because there was a large cat leaping right for them. Coen's hand was immediately on his sword hilt; the memory of being attacked by Niira in the forest was still very fresh in his mind.

But it was Niira who was tackled to the ground. She and the feline rolled over once, then Niira wrenched herself free. She shouted at the cat in the Northlander tongue.

Coen got a good look at the newcomer then. He (Coen was pretty sure it was a male, at any rate) had his jaws locked around Niira's arm, but he was hardly biting to draw blood. In fact, he looked more like an oversized kitten playing with its favorite toy. The knight relinquished his grip on his sword.

The newcomer was even bigger than Niira's feline form; his fur was grayish-gold, and his sported a scraggly grayish mane. He gave Niira a goofy smile and released her arm. She promptly popped him across his nose with her hand.

"Ow!" The feline sat up, tenderly rubbing his nose.

"What the hell, Reezy? You're a damn freak." Niira scowled at him as she pulled herself to her feet.

Coen could see Lavitz frown disapprovingly at his daughter's language, but neither knight wanted to interrupt the Northlanders.

The cat, Reezy, stood as well. His ears turned back, disappearing into his mane as he glowered back at Niira. "What did you expect me to do? Sit on my tail back home while you're out gallivanting around the world?" Coen was struck by how well the foreigner spoke his language.

_Maybe Niira taught him..._

The two Northlanders entered into a brief glaring contest. "That doesn't mean you can pounce me like a damn kitten."

"And you don't have to act like my dad and smack me on the nose like that."

"Oh goodness, goodness," Happy Tail rumbled. Coen couldn't tell whether the bird was worried or amused.

"Hmph." Niira turned around to face the others, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. "Father, Coen...this is my cousin Reezy."

"So he _is_ your cousin." Lavitz's voice was flat.

"That's what I said!" Reezy grinned at him. "Guess that sorta makes you my uncle, huh?"

"I suppose it would."

"Not to cut this short," Reezy said quickly, "but I've been traveling for weeks and I'm kinda just a little hungry. I'm sure we could discuss more of this over dinner. Or lunch. Or whatever meal is now. Or two meals at once, that would be nice."

Niira closed her eyes and sighed softly.

----

Sorry this section'sso short. But Niira's cousin has arrived! Where did he come from, though? How did he get to Bale? Why did he leave his home? Stay tuned to find out!


	16. Reezy's Story

So, um, yeah...Reezy's 24 years old or so. Older than Niira, actually. Yes, he's normally like that.

Sorry this has taken me so long to get up. I had things to do.

-----

Lavitz's house was closest, so that was where the group, minus Happy Tail, had moved. Reezy sat at the table, happily munching away on some bread, while his cousin sat across from him. Coen sat between them; he wasn't sure he quite trusted the newcomer just yet, especially after the welcome he had given Niira. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Coen fel the need to protect 'his' lady from Reezy. He decided never to mention it to Niira though, what with her extreme dislike of having others protect her when she could easily defend herself.

Lavitz didn't trust Reezy at all, and stood apart from the others. The knight's suspicion of Reezy unnerved Coen. He hated being in the middle of family arguments.

When Reezy had finally slowed in his eating, Niira spoke. Her voice had the same odd distance to it Coen remembered from their meeting in the woods. "How did you get here so quickly? You couldn't have found out until later..."

"Shining Claw came looking for you, you know how he does. Probably three or four days after you left."

The significance of that statement escaped Coen, but Niira obviously understood it. She was looking away from her cousin.

"Dad and I both told him we had no idea where you were. He didn't believe us, as usual. Said something about not being able to find Alakyl either. And then he left. And that's about when I realized that you really were gone, because if both you _and_ Alakyl were missing..."

"I thought you said your family knew you had left," Lavitz stated icily from where he stood. Coen could see the First Knight's expression from where he sat, and it was not a pleasant one. Lavitz deeply hated being lied to.

Niira didn't reply.

Reezy was glancing at them. He hurried to distract the tense situation. "I knew I had to get to you before he did."

"He's coming here?" Niira asked timidly.

Coen could see her trembling slightly. He laid his hand on her arm, worried. "What's wrong?"

"What did you expect?" Reezy continued, ignoring Coen. "That's why I came here. Course, I'm not so good at tracking things by myself, that's why I'm a bard instead of a hunter." His whiskers lifted in a smile; he had been so intent on getting food that he hadn't shifted into his human form. "So I grabbed Kitty, and off we went."

"You...brought Kitty to Bale." Niira sounded as if she really wasn't paying attention any more, like something more important was weighing on her mind.

"No, I left him in the forest. I'm not _that_ stupid, that I'd bring him into a crowded city. Meh."

"Who's Kitty?" Coen asked.

"My pet," Niira said simply.

"A _gryff_. Not sure what you call them in your language," explained Reezy. "Our pack animals." The feline leaned back in his chair. "That's how I got here so fast. Kitty, man, he's smart and can track like a mind reader. Moves like the wind when he has a mind to."

"But...why?" Coen looked hard at him, not liking the distress Reezy's words were causing Niira. "What's so bad about this Shining Claw guy?"

Niira shivered. Reezy only stared levelly back at Coen, as if what he had been asked to clarify was a seriously taboo subject.

Then Reezy turned to his cousin. "You mind?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Well, seeing as how this could easily affect the people here, I think your friend here, and your father, him too I suppose, need to know what's going on."

_Yes, I would like to know what the hell has my best friend so shaken._ Coen frowned slightly.

"I don't want to talk about it," Niira repeated.

"I never said _you_ had to explain it. Look, why don't you...go do something constructive for a bit. Like find Kitty, I'm sure he'd be happy to see you."

Niira gave her cousin an angry look. Muttering something nasty in the Northland tongue, she stood and stalked out of the house with a huff.

"What was that about?" Coen said, more to himself than anyone.

As soon as the front door shut, Lavitz made a dash for Reezy. Neither the feline nor Coen was prepared for the quick movement--the knight could move quickly despite appearances, and the armor he still wore. Reezy mewed softly in surprise, but before he could react, he was pinned in his chair, blocked from escape by Lavitz's metal-clad arms. "I don't know you, but _nobody_ scares my daughter like that without a damn good reason," Lavitz hissed. "Why are you really here and what the hell are you to her?"

It took a lot to make Lavitz angry enough to talk like that. Coen nervously pushed his own chair a few inches away.

"You had better start explaining yourself before I _make_ you."

Reezy's ears were laid flat against his skull in fear, but he determinedly narrowed his eyes at the knight. "I told you. I'm her cousin." He paused to draw a shaky breath. "I had to get here before...before he did."

"Shining Claw?"

"Yes."

"Who is he?"

"Our uncle."

_A family member has Niira scared stiff?_ Coen listened to their exchange with rapt attention.

"Why is he coming for Niira?"

"He wants he back."

"Wants her for what?"

Reezy gave a short, meek laugh. "He _wants_ her because of what she is."

"A dragoon."

"Right."

_Wait, Niira's a dragoon? When did this happen?_ This fact shocked Coen, but at the same time it made perfect sense to him. _She's certainly crazy enough at times..._

Reezy went on. "He's possessive to the point of insanity. She's _his_ student. In his mind, he's the only one who can properly teach her. That's why he took her."

"What are you talking about?"

"The Fire Monster," Coen whispered; no one heard him speak. _Her uncle's an insane dragoon who believes for some reason that only he can train her to the perfection of her abilities._

_My father was the same way. Heh._

"That's why I had to come. I have to protect her. You don't know what Shining Claw can do, what he's already done to her."

"And you of all people can protect her?" The sarcasm in Lavitz's voice was unmistakable.

"Yes. I already have. The only thing he really fears are priests." Reezy looked like he was going to say more along that line of thought, but he changed his mind. "Niira doesn't like talking about it. It upsets her so much she just hides for days afterwards. That's why I told her to leave."

A muscle in Lavitz's jaw twitched, then he slowly stepped back from Reezy.

"When he realizes I'm here, he'll take his time in actually showing up in the city. Has to work up his nerve and stuff. What a messed-up guy." Reezy rubbed his claws in the thin mane that trailed over his chest. "Dunno though, if he wants her bad enough I don't think anyone could stop him."

"I suppose you have some grand back-up plan for that scenario," Lavitz growled.

"No, not really."

"Splendid."

Coen felt decidedly awkward sitting near the other two. He stood, gesturing towards the door. "I...um...I'll go see how Niira's doing."

"You do that," Lavitz said. "I still have some questions for our...guest."

"Yeah, good luck with that." _Hence why I'm out of here._

-----

_Niira, why won't you let anyone help you?_

He had been searching for her for several minutes. She hadn't been on the main road heading out to the forests west of Bale, the one place Coen had any idea she could be. After not finding her there, he had slowly wandered back to the tree he had been attacking earlier that day.

_Who knows, maybe you could help me._

He traced his left hand over the hilt of his sword, a nervous habit had he acquired over the years. _It never was my choice to have this burden. Not like this._

As he neared the low wall bordering the farthest edges of Indels' land, he realized he was not alone. He could hear someone breathing heavily, as if they had been running. Nobody was in sight, though. Edging forward quietly, he leaned over the wall, wondering if the sounds had been coming from the other side.

Niira was curled up against the stone wall, hiding in its shadow. She had a blank look on her face, and Coen got the impression that she had been crying, or close to it.

"Niira!" Not waiting for a reply, he vaulted over the wall, his feet hitting the ground on the other side with a gentle thud. His friend didn't move as he approached. "Niira?" Still no reply. _Great gods above..._ He recalled what Reezy had mentioned about her reaction to talk about her uncle.

Quickly unbuckling his sword belt, he set the weapon aside so he could sit on the grass with her. He allowed the silence to hang between them. It still felt like he was sitting with a ghost, someone who had left the dead just for a quick visit. It was a strange feeling. "Niira?"

"I can't go back," was the soft, almost child-like answer.

"What?"

"There...I can't...go..." She did cry then, a single tear glinting on her cheek.

Coen put his arm around her hunched shoulder. _Why won't you talk? We can help you...I'm sure even King Albert would do something if he knew about your uncle._

Niira leaned against his shoulder, despite the light stiffened-leather armor he still wore. "I have to leave...before he gets here...before he tries to destroy the city again..." Her words were half-mumbled, almost slurred, as if she wasn't really aware of what she was saying.

It made the young knight shiver. "Don't talk like that."

She did stop, to Coen's relief. He leaned back against the wall, turning his face to the sky to watch the clouds slowly float past. _I hope Sir Lavitz was not too hard on Niira's cousin. He may have to talk to Albert on her behalf if she continues to refuse to ask for help._ He closed his eyes. _And here I was thinking my life had just started to settle down after all the excitement three years ago..._

He opened his eyes with a start, realizing he had drifted off. The sky was just beginning to darken, though, so he hadn't slept long. Shifting his weight to ease a tingling in one leg, he felt Niira stir also. Had she fallen asleep too? Coen tried to turn himself so he could see her better...and then he noticed here toying with a small object in her hand. A dark sphere the size of a marble.

"Niira..." Coen had seen such an object only once before. The one Lavitz possessed, although that one was green. _She _is_ a dragoon._

_Did she get that from Rose after she died in the war? Gods, what role to step into..._

The half-blood didn't seem to notice Coen watching her and continued rubbing the smooth surface of the stone. When it began to emit a faint glow, she quickly stuffed it into a hidden pocket and moved as if to sit up again.

"Niira." The voice was low and tired, but it still made Coen and Niira both jump slightly.

_Oh shit, it's her father._ Coen stood quickly, his thoughts immediately turning toward Lavitz's protective attitude towards his daughter. It would have been one thing to see Niira and Coen together as children, but now that they were grown, Coen belonged to that group of people who Niira shouldn't be around. Those who could, in Lavitz's eyes, take advantage of her.

Somehow, Coen doubted Niira would ever let anyone take advantage of her in that way. _I know I sure as hell wouldn't even try. Not with you being her father, you'd kick my ass._

"Yes?" Niira was standing as well, looking rather flustered as she smoothed down her shirt.

"Have you been here the whole time?"

"I...um...yes. I was...talking with Coen."

"I see." Lavitz had a suspicious glint in his eye. He had known Coen since the younger man's birth, but he had his reasons to not trust the Third Knight. "Mother's made dinner for us. If you feel up to it."

"Yes...I'm fine now. Dinner sounds good." She glanced at Coen. "Thank you."

He could feel his heart racing. _Why? It's not like we did anything at all._

"Talk to you tomorrow?"

"...Yes, of course." He watched as she swung herself over the wall and followed her father back to the city.

_No...nothing's going to be normal around here for quite a while._


	17. A Warning

Getting close to some action now! Woot!

But not quite there yet :). Just hang in there.

-----

As the weeks passed, Niira seemed to forget the conversation about her uncle, instead spending her time showing Reezy and Alakyl around the city, at least, what parts of it she remembered. When she wasn't doing that, she was rediscovering an old favorite pastime of hers: sparring with the squires. Except that now, the young men didn't hold much of a challenge for her.

She also rediscovered the 'secret' passageways she used once to get around Indels Schloss unseen. Most were ancient crawlspaces behind the walls that she could no longer fit in. What purpose the hidden hallways had once served, she could never figure out, as they were certainly not big enough to allow an adult human through.

Niira smiled wistfully to herself. _Guess I have to act all grown-up now and take the normal halls._

_But that doesn't mean I can't use the back halls._

She had used such halls, away from the main walkways, to evade people once her hidden crawlspaces had been discovered. Not that she was technically allowed access to such places, but that never stopped her. She recalled clearly her amusement at running from the castle servants, who tried to prevent her from being where she shouldn't. They could never catch her. Instead, her downfall would always come in the form of running into (usually literally) her father, or one of the ministers who knew her.

_I bet Albert still uses that study in the back..._

-----

_She dashed down the hallway, her feet almost silent against the stone floor. They were close this time. She had made the mistake of letting the servants get too close to her. But she wasn't about ready to let such a fun chase just end like that._

_Sliding across the floor slightly as she rounded a corner, she threw herself into the first open door she saw. It only stood open a few inches, but that mattered little as she squeezed in, trying not to cause it to swing open further and give away her hiding spot. Then she dove behind the thick curtains that hung around the windows. She pressed herself against the wall, hoping she didn't make too much of a noticeable bulge in the heavy fabrics. In the ensuing silence, she could hear muffled sound of the servants hurrying past the door._

_She smiled to herself. Victory again. Now the trick was to get back _out_ of the castle without being caught._

_"Are you going to come out now?"_

_She knew that voice, the soft tones that carried and air of importance. Immediately she froze in fear. She had run straight into the private study of the king himself. _I'm in so much trouble...

_"I know it's you, Niira." The voice was kind, not showing any hint of anger. "I'm surprised you're not trying to drag Arlo's boy into trouble with you per usual."_

_Slowly, Niira edged out from behind the curtain. "His name's Coen. You always forget."_

_"No, I don't." King Albert sat at a desk, on which a large book lay open. He was dressed simply, obviously not expecting visitors or business today, although his long hair was pulled back as neatly as always. He watched the girl calmly through soft brown eyes._

_Niira couldn't shake the feeling that she had committed some terrible wrong, despite the king's good mood and the small friendship they shared. Eventually, she lowered her gaze, clasping her hands behind her back and shuffling her feet. "M'sorry. Won't happen again, maj'sty."_

_"Sorry for what?" Albert chuckled to himself. "Come now, you've provided me an entertaining break from all of this." He raised a finger, indicating the book. "Don't tell me that you, the queen of boors, are suddenly going to start using manners around me just because you ran into my study. That simply won't do."_

_Niira dared to glance up at him; he smiled back. She too managed a grin. "Not a boor. You're a...a..." She couldn't think of anything smart-sounding enough to try to use as a counter-insult._

_"Don't even think about trying," the king said. "You know I can outwit you in the word game."_

_She knew this was true, so she said nothing._

_Albert had been in Niira's life since her birth. Although age and social status had always held a barrier between them, it was a small one. Albert had always been keen on participating in the antics of his best friend's child, much to the dismay of just about every high-ranking noble who had a place in the castle. It just wasn't right for the king, as young as he was, to be spending time with an still younger commoner. Even if she was the daughter of the First Knight._

_Not that Niira cared. She had always ignored the rules of proper behavior, except when such rules suited her current goals._

_"Whatcha reading?" The last of Niira's fear had finally melted away. She trotted to the desk, standing on her toes to get a better look at the book that occupied its surface._

_"Oh, just history and such. Boring stuff that I have to know, you know how it is."_

_"Nah, not boring!" Of course, such topics were always boring to her when she faced them in her own classroom. With someone besides the teachers, though, anything was interesting._

_"You think so? I assure you, after reading _this_, you'll think it's boring. Have a look." He pushed himself to one side of the chair, to allow Niira some space to sit beside him. As he has always possessed a lanky build, there was plenty of room for the small child._

_She eagerly climbed up next to him._

-----

She had learned a lot of random information from those times when she 'accidentally' ran into the king's study. Of course, such sessions were often cut short, especially once the castle servants and her father learned that she liked to hide there.

_What I wouldn't give to be able to do that again,_ she thought as she climbed a short flight of stairs.

"What are you doing here?"

It's was a girl's voice, but the tone and formation of the words indicated someone who was well-educated. Niira glanced down to see a child of perhaps eight or nine years in age standing next to her, a superior look on her round face. She wore a pale pink shift beneath her white dress, giving her the effect of a small flower. _You're the one who snuck up on me. Wait..._ Niira had to blink a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. _She looks familiar somehow._

"Well? Who are you to be allowed in this part of Indels?"

At first, Niira wasn't sure what to tell the girl. She decided the truth would be the best choice. "I'm a dragoon. My name is Niira."

The girl tilted her head. "Oh?...oh!" Her features suddenly lit up.

_I know that look. That's exactly how King Albert looks whenever he find something interesting._

"You're Sir Lavitz's daughter."

"Yes."

"Father told me about you. Sir Lavitz would never say much."

Niira bit her tongue. _Because he hurt for me. I caused that pain._

"What are you doing back in this part of the castle?" The girl touched Niira's hand questioningly.

"Just...looking. It's been a long time since I was last here." She found herself walking down the hall with the girl. "Who are you, anyway?"

For a moment, the child looked almost offended. "I'm Princess Diandra of Serdio!"

"What!" The half-blood's near-shout echoed. "But... I'm sorry. I wasn't aware Albert was married." _And here, people are getting mad at _me_ because I haven't told them everything that's happened in the past thirteen or so years._

"Of course he is!"

"Who's your mother, then?"

"Emille of Tiberoa."

"Ah." _Not that I know who that is._

"I have a little brother too, but he's too small to walk around the castle by himself." Diandra sounded proud of herself.

"What's his name?"

"Aricin." The princess turned to open an nearby door and stepped through. Niira followed her, realizing a moment later that they were in the throne room, entering through one of the side doors on the upper platform. It was an entrance Niira had never used when she was a child, because it opened in full view of the entire room, and was only a few steps away from where Albert's throne sat. Not a place she wanted to be when trying to evade capture.

Albert's throne was still there, but it was now accompanied by a second one, in which a woman sat. Niira assumed she was Emille, as she certainly looked Tiberoan with her warm skin and dark features. She was talking softly with Albert and was the first to see them enter.

"Diandra, what did I tell you about...oh." She looked with surprise at Niira.

Albert turned in his seat to see what was going on. He smiled warmly at the girls. "I see you two found each other. I knew you would. You both have a habit of being where you're not supposed to."

Niira glowered mockingly. "I prefer to call it a talent."

"Are you contradicting me, knave?"

"Varlet."

The king raised an eyebrow curiously. The last time they had played this game, Niira had failed miserably. She smiled at him. "Maybe you've learned a few new tricks, but you still fight like a girl," Albert said at last.

"I _am_ a girl, or didn't you notice?"

Diandra glared up at Niira, then at her father. "That's not very nice."

"Yes, dear." Albert was still smiling. He motioned for his daughter, and she ran to her parents, wrapping her short arms around her father.

"You sort of failed to mention to me that you were, you know, a _family man_ now," Niira said.

"I'm sure there's plenty you haven't told me."

"Perhaps."

"Then we're even." At a look from his wife, Albert attempted to pull himself back into a more serious mindset. He seemed to have a problem doing that whenever Niira was around. "I'm sorry. Emille, this is Niira Slambert."

"Oh! I thought she looked like Sir Lavitz. Very nice to finally meet you." The queen smiled. She had a light, soothing voice.

Niira frowned. "I don't look _that_ much like my father."

Albert chuckled, an action that ended with him coughing a few times. Niira glanced at him. She had never known the king to be ill. But that certainly hadn't sounded good.

Before she could ask, however, a distraction was sent their way. Happy Tail glided in through one of the windows that was kept open for him. He landed in the middle of the throne room with a bounce, then bowed quickly to the royal family. "Sorry to be disturbing you. I was sent to fetch Niira. Couldn't find her, didn't even think to look here..."

"What is it this time?" Niira wanted to stay and talk with Albert. He was one of the few people who hadn't acted completely strange to her since her return.

"Your fellow Northlanders would like to speak with you."

She sighed. "All right." _Now what?_

_"They're to the south of the barracks. You know, where Marach likes to spend his time moping in the forest." The avian smiled, his muzzle crinkling pleasantly._


	18. My Secret Pain

"Finally." That was Marach's greeting as Niira joined the group. He was leaning back against a tree lazily and didn't even look up at her as she approached. Reezy stood nearby, and Alakyl sat in the shade, panting lightly.

"What's this about? Just when I start to relax..."

"Sorry to interrupt your happy times," Marach muttered.

"He's coming," Reezy said softly.

Niira felt her blood run cold. _No...he's found me... I can't go back._

"Wuff." Alakyl growled softly.

"I thought he'd stay away longer if I came," Reezy continued. "But last night, I could feel his presence like a beacon when I was meditating. I don't know exactly where he is, but he's coming fast." Feliform priests were often individuals who could sense magic naturally, even use it to some extent. That Reezy could sense Shining Claw, a dragoon, from so far away was not surprising.

_I can't go back._ "I have to...have to get away from here then. I'm not going to risk innocents being swept up into this." Niira swallowed. Shining Claw was not above hurting those who tried to prevent him from doing what he wanted. If he became angry enough, he might just decide that all of Bale was standing in his way.

"Exactly," Marach put in. He shifted, digging his foot-claws into the ground.

"There's still some time." Reezy tried to sound reassuring. "Figure out a plan of action for yourself, say goodbye to people this time..."

_I don't want to leave._

"Wuff!"

"I don't want to run any more," Niira said, feeling defeated. "I'm certainly not going to just run around Endiness." Cities were larger and closer together in Endiness than the Northlands. Sooner or later, Niira would run across one, and her uncle would follow.

"We could try to find the Seventh," Marach suggested. "Then at least you'd be running with a purpose."

Niira let out a shuddering sigh. "I guess." Somehow, that didn't seem like a better situation than facing her uncle's wrath.

-----

Niira had intended to tell her father about this that night, but for some reason she couldn't find the right words. Instead, she asked to meet with him and her closest friends--Coen and Albert--the following night. Telling everyone at once seemed easier than having to search out everyone and explain the situation and say her goodbyes three times.

Then it had all come out. She had decided to leave at the end of the week; Marach thought that heading southwest would be a good start for finding the Seventh, as it was an area he and Niira's mother had never covered years before.

Alakyl would stay behind. The wolf protested immensely on this point, but in the end Niira won. She didn't see any sense in involving two dragoons in this chase, when there was a good chance that neither would come back alive. The Seventh was reputed to be quite hateful toward others and definitely not someone to be trifled with. This last thought was exchanged through the Northland tongue, as Niira didn't want to have to explain to people that this was as good as a suicide mission. She did add, in the human language, that she fully intended to return to Bale once the Seventh was found, or when her uncle had retreated once more.

_But all the intentions in the world don't mean anything if I can't stay alive._

Her father would have none of it. He was furious that she was just leaving and not staying where, in his mind, she could be protected. The she refused to allow him to assist in the search as well just added insult to injury.

Niira knew what it must seem like to him. Like she suddenly wanted nothing to do with him or anyone. She looked away from him. _I wish I could explain it all to you. But that'd only make matters worse._ "This is not your war," she said finally. "It's the Northlands'. I can't involve outsiders in this."

"It became my war when you were born," Lavitz hissed.

"I won't let you."

"Try and stop me."

"Try and find me once I get out in the wilds."

"Enough." Albert's voice was soft, but the force it carried made everyone fall silent and look at their lord. He was slouched back in his chair, his face drawn, almost as if he was in pain. He sighed. "Lavitz will go with you."

"What? No, Albert...Your Majesty...no..." _No...please...you don't understand...we may never return..._

"This is not a request, Niira." He gazed at her, his usually soft eyes glinting harshly. "I am ordering it."

_Why?_ Niira opened and closed her mouth a few times. She was unsure if she still held citizen status in Serdio, and therefore whether or not she had a right to contradict Albert's commands. Then she remembered that even if she wasn't any more, her father still was, and he certainly would obey orders from his king. So the knight would be coming with her after all. _This could mess everything up._

There was some more discussion between Marach and Lavitz, if it could be called discussion. Marach tended to talk in sarcastic remarks that nobody ever knew if they should take seriously or not. Coen was oddly quiet through the whole affair, not looking at anyone in particular. He looked unnerved by the entire situation. Niira watched him silently. _He never was able to handle stress well. I still wish someone would tell me why Albert put him in charge of the Third Knighthood..._

Then she realized that everyone was rising to leave, dismissed by the king. She pushed her chair back and was already halfway standing when she saw Albert fall back in his chair, wincing. His breathing suddenly became labored. He pressed a hand to his chest, as if indicating a strong pain. Niira felt every nerve in her body shouting that something was terribly wrong. But presently, the king recovered, lowering his hand again.

"My lord...?" Lavitz said softly.

Albert smiled weakly. "It's nothing...old war wound." He pointed over his shoulder, indicating his back. Lavitz nodded once, but was clearly unconvinced.

Niira was still shaking. _What the...what?_

"War wound indeed," Bead Pouncer muttered to her in Northlandish.

"What is he talking about?"

"He had a powerful magic object in his body once."

"Once?"

"During the Second Dragon Campaign, he was taken captive by his uncle, in Sandora. And while he was there, some Wingly stole the object from him."

"How?"

"How do Winglies ever do anything? With magic. He cast magic on his hand and just--" Marach made a small forward-jerking motion with one hand as he turned to the room's door. "Reached in and grabbed it out." He stepped out.

Niira shuddered as she followed the guardsman. "That sounds...ugh."

"It's hurt him before, but never this bad."

Coen was the last to leave, after Niira. He was the only one who heard Albert's soft words of, "Coen. I must speak with you."

-----

_Wha..._ Coen felt himself freeze. The last time King Albert had talked to him alone, it had been on the topic of Coen's father. More correctly, Coen's reaction to the situation involving his father. For a moment, he panicked that Albert wanted to talk about it again. _Gods no..._

But the young knight closed the door and turned around to face his king. "Yes sir?"

Albert sighed softly, as if thinking of what to say. It was a rare thing for him to not know what to say. "Sit down, please."

Coen did as such. The back of his neck tingled oddly. He didn't like the feeling.

"How much do you know about the Civil War?" It was an alternative name given to the Serdian War, used mostly by politicians.

"A good deal, I believe." Coen had grown up with the war around him. As he had trained to be a knight, he had fully expected to be thrown into battle against the Sandorans as soon as he was ready. But thankfully the war had ended before that.

"You know why I was taken prisoner by Doel?"

Coen tried to choose his words carefully. He was never very good at it. "You gave yourself to him in exchange for leaving the people of Basil in peace." He could still remember hearing the news all those years ago. And the shock and general panic that had soon followed.

Albert looked as if he had heard all this a hundred times before. "You know who else wanted me there?"

"The Wingly," Coen answered. "He wanted the Moon Gem." That was something that not everyone knew about. The knowledge of the Moon Objects had, for the most past, remained confined to the royal families of Serdio, Tiberoa, and Mille Seseau, and their closest aides. Coen had only found out once he became the Third Knight, and even then it was only when he overheard a conversation between Lavitz and the king, years after the war.

Albert nodded. "Coen... I had that cursed object in my body since I was six years old. An ancient magic gem placed in the body of a mere boy. I still have the scars from that operation." He blankly traced a finger down the middle of his chest; Coen inferred that was where he had been cut open in order to receive the divine object. He cringed involuntarily. "When you have something like that placed in your body, one of two things happens. Your body either tries to reject it, against the Moon Object's wishes, and the conflict kills you. Or, your body accepts it, learns to live with the magic, and you survive." He glanced briefly at the knight. "You understand?"

Coen nodded once. "Ye-yes, sir."

Again Albert sighed. He suddenly seemed to frail and hopeless. "It was a symbiotic relationship, between my body and the Moon Gem. I housed it. I hid it from the wrath of Soa. It kept me alive in some circumstances that I should not have lived through. We shared life."

Coen suddenly did not like where this was going.

"It was part of my life for many years. And now it's been gone for years. At first, it was wonderful. But now my body finds itself...incapable..."

_No._ Coen closed his eyes tightly, forcing himself to tune out the rest of the sentence. _No. No. I'm not hearing this._

"I am dying without the Moon Gem."

_No. No. No. No._

"I tried to find someone to help. It was Master Haschel who went all the way to Deningrad for me, did some searching through the library, talked with some old acquaintances there..." He trailed off, as if in the middle of a memory. "He returned to his home town and sent word to me that something was being made to keep me alive, in place of the Moon Gem." He stopped again, swallowed. "It was sent from Deningrad to Rogue last year. It should have been here months ago."

"What happened?" Coen found himself asking, despite his spinning head.

The king was silent for a while. "I don't know. There have been no communications to and from that area ever since."

"Someone found out about it? Someone who has something against you?"

"That's what I originally thought. But Haschel would have never let such a secret out. He may play the fool, I don't know, perhaps he _is_ a fool, but he can do anything without anyone knowing if he has a mind to. No...I'm positive he would have never let word of it slip to anyone. And I know the people he found to make the object would have been the same way. I trust him to be cautious."

Coen thought for a while. "Is he dead? Did someone..."

Albert waved that idea away. "I don't know. Someone has to go there and find out."

"Why are you telling _me_ this?"

"Because I trust you."

_Why? After what I did..._

"You are one of the few people, I believe, who would be able to slip up to Rogue without causing a fuss. You don't look overtly like a knight, at any rate."

"That's a good thing? Why don't you call one of the dragoons?"

"Because they're too well-known. There would certainly be questions if one of them went. I don't need this situation broadcast across the continent."

"Why not send Lavitz?"

Albert made a soft growling sound. "He would be questioned. He's a dragoon too, remember. And he _acts_ like someone raised in the military. And, he's been known to make stupid decisions based on his desire to protect me in the past."

_Instead, you send him on a mission that he knows little about and that has nothing to do with you. I suppose that makes sense._ "So...you want _me_ to go to Master Haschel's town and find this...moon object and bring it back?"

The king nodded. "Find out why there was a sudden lack of communication. Who wanted the moon object blocked from my access."

"Why not ask the Tiberoans...? Right, trying to keep things secret." Coen shuddered, running a hand through his short dark hair. _I wish I could say no, but he is the king._ "You want me to leave..."

"As soon after Niira leaves as you possibly can."

"So that Lavitz won't know." He knew exactly what Albert was talking about when he mentioned the First Knight's insane desire to protect his king.

He took Albert's silence to be an affirmative.

Still, he tried to find a way out of this. "Sir...is it wise to have the heads of two knighthoods out? I mean, especially if Niira's uncle really does find his way here..."

"I'm sure your lieutenants can handle things during your absence."

"Of course." Coen felt weak. He hoped he wasn't trembling too visibly. _The king of all Serdio is placing his life in my hands. Why? I'm not suited for things like this._ "I...I can't do this alone." His voice sounded small even to himself.

"I don't expect you to," Albert said. "Take who you want with you. But keep the group small. It would not be wise to attract the attention of whoever caused the trouble in Rogue."

"I know. I think I've already decided who I'd like to come with me." _That is, assuming I can convince them to join me._

-----

Later that evening, Coen walked to Mrs. Slambert's house. He hoped the First Knight wasn't there at this hour. He would certainly make things more difficult.

Thankfully, he wasn't. Coen was allowed in by Lavitz's kindly mother. To his relief, he found Reezy sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace. Alakyl was stretched out in front of the flames, completely ignorant of the sparks that landed in her fur. Coen still did not trust Niira's cousin completely, but he felt certain that Reezy was key in getting his plan to work.

Reezy looked up at him as he approached. The Northlander had finally changed to his human form; even as a human, he would still stand out in a crowd. He features were definitely not Serdian, a fact which was not helped by the small beard he sported on his chin, a cut not seen in Serdio. "Yes?"

Coen sighed, pushing down his nervousness. "I need your help. Can we speak alone? You too, Alakyl."

The wolf raised her head and eyed Coen curiously. She and Reezy exchanged a look, then she stood and stretched stiffly. "Wuff," she grumbled.

"Somewhere we won't be overheard."

"Oh, it's that important, huh?" Reezy's voice held an edge of sarcasm.

"I don't have time for this." Coen hoped he had made himself sound enough like a superior knight to get the idea through Reezy's head.

"No need to get snappish about it." The Northlander stood and motioned to one of the nearby rooms. "That good enough for you?"

"As long as nobody walks in while we're talking, yes."

Without another word, the trio moved into the room. Coen made sure to pull the door closed behind him.

"So what's the great problem that you need my help now?" Reezy folded his arms across his chest.

"I actually need to ask Alakyl. But I can't understand her, and she doesn't like being near me really to begin with..."

"Well I guess it's a good thing I can understand her then, huh?"

Coen had almost forgotten that the wolf spoke a different language. He had assumed that since Niira understood it, and Reezy was family, that he could understand it too.

"Rrr...wuff."

"King Albert has asked me to do something that I can't do alone."

"Well, what can I--Alakyl--do?"

"There was something that was supposed to be sent here from Rogue, a city in Tiberoa, but it never arrived."

"I assume this thing is important."

"The king's life depends on it." He hoped the foreigners would have enough respect for another country's ruler that they would understand the importance of this.

Both of the Northlanders were quiet for a moment. "Yes, I suppose that is important," Reezy admitted.

_Thank the gods._ "One of the king's old friends, Master Haschel, was in charge of it. But nobody's heard from him for months. Which is odd...I've been told that he's a master of martial arts and a dragoon."

"So whoever or whatever stopped this 'very important something' from reaching your king has to be powerful enough to stop a dragoon." Reezy was quick to figure it out.

"Two dragoons, actually. There was a second one living with Haschel. At least, if I'm remembering correctly."

"Hmm."

"Wuff."

"King Albert wants me to go there. But there's no way I can stand against something that could incapacitate _two_ dragoons."

"Again, what does this have to do with us?"

"Alakyl's a dragoon, isn't she?"

Reezy bristled. "How do you know that?"

"Niira mentioned it." _Well, it _was_ a rather off-handed comment she made a few weeks ago...I hope I heard her right._

"Wuff." Alakyl's ears swiveled back.

"I came to ask if you would help me with this. I know Albert isn't your king, but...there's nothing that can hold its ground against a dragoon except another dragoon. We can't send for the group from the Second Dragon Campaign because it'd cause questions to be asked, and then I remembered you were here..."

"Hrrr...wuff. Wuff says wuff."

"She says she doesn't trust you."

"I know that."

"I'm not sure I quite trust you either." Reezy narrowed his eyes at the young knight.

"Wuff!"

Coen glared back. "I'll go alone if I have to. But there'd be a much better chance of success if I had your help."

Alakyl made a soft whimpering sound. Reezy replied with something Coen didn't understand. It only made the wolf whimper again.

"Well?"

"We'll think about it."

"_Think about it?_" Coen felt a deeply-hidden anger rising. His king's life was being threatened, and these two wanted to _think about it_? He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Fine. Niira's leaving in two days. I'll be at the north gate of Bale that afternoon. If you're coming, meet me there before sundown. Bring a horse, I intend to move quickly. And don't say anything to anyone." With that much said, he wheeled about, pulling open the door and hurrying out of the room.

_They'll 'think about it?'_


	19. Beginnings

Niira left the city early that morning, wandering to the hills that overlooked a forest beyond the western gate. Everything was soft and misty in the gray dawn light. Suddenly, she gave a sharp two-note whistle. It echoed across the still countryside. She sighed and scowled. She wished Albert hadn't forced her father to come along. The king always had a reason for the things he did, but she couldn't figure out this one.

_Well...he _does_ know his way around Serdio. I suppose that's helpful. And I guess it'll be nice to have an extra person around when we finally find the Seventh..._

"You're calling the gryff?" Marach had walked up behind Niira during her inward conversation.

"Why not? It's better than leaving him with Reezy."

The guardsman snorted.

"Actually...I just thought he might be useful. At some time. You never know."

"If you say so."

But the forest remained silent as they waited for Lavitz to arrive. Again Niira frowned. She hoped the beast hadn't wandered off and terrorized some poor nearby village.

The First Knight walked up to them at last, his armor covered in the early morning mist. He nodded a greeting at the Northlanders. "Let's go then."

Niira glanced at Bead Pouncer. "_I'm going down to the forest to see where Kitty got to. I'll catch up to you when I find him._"

"_You do that_."

She trotted down the hill towards the forest. _I'm never going to hear the end of it if he's gone off and done something..._ As she neared the forest edge, she slowed. _Come on you dolt, where are you? _She was about to give the whistle again when she heard something moving around in the trees. Then she found herself staring into the round, feathered face of her gryff.

"Rrrnk?" He focused his multiple black eyes on her. For a creature bigger than a horse, he could move around with surprising silence.

"Why didn't you come when I called for you?" Niira muttered, more to herself than Kitty. She reached up to scratch the feathers on his neck. He clacked his beak a few times in pleasure. "Well, let's go. Time to do some hunting."

They had caught up with the other two before long. Marach was rather non-plussed by the new addition to their group. Lavitz, however, had a different opinion. "Niira, what is that...that _thing_?"

"It's Kitty."

"You named that _thing_ 'Kitty'?" He stared at the gryff; Kitty stared back, waving his long tail slowly back and forth.

"Hey, I was an eight-year-old girl, he was a kitten, what else do you expect me to name him?"

"Nreek?" the gryff whistled.

"If that thing eats me in my sleep..."

"Oh, don't worry. He knows better than to eat people. Doesn't man he won't pretend to, but..."

"That is somehow not very comforting."

-----

Later that day, a young night stood at the stood at the gates at the opposite side of the city. Unlike Lavitz, though, he wore nothing to identify him as a knight of Serdio. In fact, he had little more with him than the necessary provisions, as well as the light leather armor that he wore, and his sword. In one hand, he tightly gripped the reigns of his horse as he watched the sun near the horizon. _So...they had better get here soon._ His still features did not give away his racing heart. _Why is this responsibility mine?_

His horse suddenly turned its head to look behind. Taking the animal's cue, Coen turned as well. To his surprise, Reezy and Alakyl were walking up to him, a sandy-colored horse in tow. The two young men regarded each other silently. Reezy finally spoke. "Well, we're here. Let's go have an adventure."

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up." Coen couldn't believe how relieved he was. Setting his hands on his horse's shoulder, he pulled himself up into the saddle.

Reezy did likewise; Alakyl was not suited to riding horses and would have to walk. "I did too. But we figured if Niira ever found out we didn't help on something like this, she'd never forgive us."

_I don't think I would, either. _ But he didn't say that to them. Instead, he dug his heels into the horse's ribs, and the beast started northwards. If they moved quickly, they might just make it to the foothills tonight. There were a few small settlements there...

"Besides..." Reezy's voice interrupted his thoughts. "I have a feeling we'll end up seeing a lot of each other in the future anyway. Might as well get to know you."

"Really. I'm not that interesting."

"Wuff!"

"You don't have to be so enthusiastic about agreeing with me."


	20. Confrontation in the Forest

Hurray for original chapter titles.

You've waited 20 chapters for it, and here it is! Action! Somewhat. Yeah.

----

"_And here I was thinking you were from Serdio._"

"_I am. But that doesn't mean I know every inch of the damn country. I wasn't allowed far from Bale when I was here fourteen damn years ago. There was a war going on, you know._"

"_So you keep saying._"

"_If this is just you being bitter about missing out on the action up north, it was your choice to come down here, you know. You could have asked Serpent Mother to send someone else and put you with the Reisch or something._"

"_It was not my choice. She gave me an order._"

"Would you stop it already?" Thought Lavitz could not understand what was being said, two days of Marach and Niira heckling each other was still enough to grate on his nerves.

"Sorry," the Northlanders said simultaneously.

Though they traveled, they had little idea of where exactly they were going. Marach had attempted to ask for Serpent Mother's advice a few nights ago. The instructions she gave were simply for them to go south. Niira wondered if she was being purposely vague, or if she really didn't know where the Seventh was and intended to put Niira in a place where she had no 'eyes' and use the half-blood's supposed dragoon-sensing abilities. _God, at this rate we'll die of old age before we find any sign of the Seventh. I don't even know if I have my mother's ability to do this sort of thing. I mean, yeah, I can feel magic but I had no idea my father was a dragoon until he held his dragoon spirit in front of my face._

Marach had led the group into the forest earlier in the day. Open spaces like the plains of Serdio made him nervous; his race lived in the rocky mountains of the Northlands, where one could easily hide even within a few feet of someone. But this had led to protest from Lavitz, who claimed the forest would only slow them. But Niira knew the real reason behind his dislike of the forest. The knights were trained to fight on open ground. Having trees in the way presented a severe impediment to someone in full armor, especially if that someone used a lance and his favored weapon.

_Look at us. We must make the worst traveling group ever. _She didn't know whether to be amused or annoyed.

She almost didn't notice when Kitty's heavy footsteps stopped. "Come on, Kitty."

"Brrrt."

"What?" Niira looked back at her pet. He had stopped with one forepaw raised, his small round ears turning this way and that as he tried to locate something.

"What's gotten into him now?" Marach growled.

Just then, Kitty set down his foot and lashed his tail from side to side.

"There's someone up ahead," Niira said. She recognized when the gryff was trying to warn her, and knew from years of experience that it was best to listen to him.

There was little time to prepare as a group of men emerged from the forest's shadows in front of them. They looked as if they had intended to encircle the group, but after seeing the giant gryff they must have decided to err on the side of caution. Niira did not like the looks of the strangers and immediately began thinking of whether it would make more sense to beat them senseless with her spear or give them the full treatment with her dragoon abilities.

"What business do you have in our forest?" one man addressed them.

"_Your _forest?" Lavitz gripped his lance tightly.

Niira glanced at him, silently pleading for him to not do anything rash that might make the situation worse.

"That's right, knight."

"We're just passing through," Niira said. She would rather not fight them if at all possible...yet she still itched for action.

"I'm supposed to believe that a lady is 'just passing through' with a knight, an armed foreigner, and that beast?"

"What concern is it of yours how she travels?" Marach interjected.

"Because I find it interesting. And besides, I like to know what's going on in _my_ forest."

Niira narrowed her eyes at the men. They all wore a rough badge sewn onto their right sleeve, a rampant blood-red dragon on black fabric. She recognized the design, but couldn't recall what people would wear it.

"Now, you can leave, or I can have my men remove you." From deeper within the forest, Niira could hear the sounds of more of the group, members hidden away in reserve in the case of trouble.

"This is the fastest route to where we're going, and we intend to keep going in this direction." Niira knew this was beyond trying to negotiate now, but she still found herself trying anyway.

The leader of the bandits laughed. "I'd like to see you try."

"Damn Sandoran rogues," Lavitz hissed. "I thought we had run you off already."

"No." The stranger looked at the knight. "Nice try though."

"Enough of this. We don't have time to banter with traitors." Lavitz swirled his spear into an attack position. "Move or die."

_Well done, father. Excellent._ Niira sighed inwardly.

The rogue Sandoras laughed amongst themselves. "You're far outnumbered, knight. What chance do you think you have?"

Niira felt a crackling in the air. It was the same sensation she felt whenever someone nearby transformed into their dragoon armor. She glanced at her father...but he still stood in his silver Serdian armor. _Then who..._

"A good chance, I think!" shouted a high-pitched, childish voice.

Chaos erupted as a shimmering pale blue figure shot through the ranks of the Sandoras. Kitty, startled by the sudden commotion, reared with a loud screech. The nearby bandits shouted in terror and tried to run. One met his end as the gryff's full weight came crashing back down on top of him, while another fell victim to Kitty's sharp curved beak.

Niira reached for the rod she carried against her back, whipping it around so it extended to its full length, spear blades locking into place. Marach owned a similar weapon; he pulled it out and joined in the fray as well.

They were disappointed in how short the fight was. The Sandoran rogues had been startled sufficiently and fled as quickly as they could, rather than stay and fight. Excited by the battle, Kitty gave chase to the last stragglers, crashing through the forest. The three companions stood still in the odd silence that followed, as if in shock.

"What the hell just happened?" Niira asked finally.

"No idea," Marach admitted.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Lavitz asked his daughter.

"You had time to pay attention to how I was fighting?"

The knight only shrugged.

Niira replaced her spear in its harness and whistled for Kitty. The gryff would return on his own eventually, but she didn't want him running where he shouldn't be.

A silvery giggle cut through the trees. Looking up, Niira saw a girl sitting in the branches above. She wore light blue dragoon armor, and she kept her wings sticking out behind her for balance as she sat on the branch. Settled across her lap was a nasty-looking war hammer that seemed rather big in comparison with the girl who held it. "Imagine seeing you again! Here! Of all places!"

_What on earth?_ Niira furrowed her brow. _At least we know who scared off the bandits now._

"Meru?" Lavitz sounded incredulous.

"Long time no see!" The girl--Meru--dropped to the ground, shedding her armor in bits of icy light. The clothes that remained were skimpy, even to Niira, who was used to the minimalist fashions of the feliforms. The girl's silver-blue hair was pulled back from her face in a long ponytail that reached her waist. Niira tensed suddenly.

_She's a Wingly._ Though most Northlander races had little contact with Endiness in the past, they knew enough to know of the vicious superiority complex the Winglies were infamous for. _How did a Wingly get a hold of a dragoon spirit?_

_Why does my father not seem concerned about this?_

Lavitz was indeed having a conversation with Meru, as if they were old friends. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay in the forest with Guaraha for a while."

"Who, me? Nah. Well yeah, we stayed there for 'a while.' But I just had to show him the human world! We went to Lohan, and then..."

"You came up here from Lohan? Why didn't you tell King Albert you were in Serdio?"

"We only stayed there a little while!" Meru spoke with a carefree giddiness, her arms and legs moving around as if she was dancing as she talked. "We were in Donau after that, and then--"

The knight cut her off again. Niira was somehow glad that he did. "That doesn't tell me why you're _here_ now."

Niira glanced at Marach. The guardsman appeared to have some further knowledge of Meru than she did, and wore his usual bored expression.

_Wait, if she's a dragoon, then she must have fought in the dragoon war with my father. No wonder they know each other._ It was so obvious now that she remembered that, she felt stupid.

"So! Who's yer new buddies!" Meru hop-danced to Niira and Marach. The hyaeniform only glowered back.

"He's Marach," Lavitz said.

"Oh yeah! That guy from the north, huh?" Meru didn't wait for an answer, but spun around until she was in front of Niira. She stood on her toes, leaning close to the half-blood. Even making herself taller this way, Meru was still shorter than Niira. She narrowed her ruby eyes, as if deep in thought. "Who're you?"

"I'm Niira."

"Hmm?"

"My daughter," Lavitz added quietly.

"Ah! I thought she reminded me of you!" Meru did a little spin back to Lavitz. "Hey, didn't you say she was dead?"

Niira felt a her heart sink. _You say that so carelessly._

Lavitz looked stung by that remark as well. "I thought she was."

"Well, she's here now, so she's obviously not dead! Hee! Where y'all going anyway?"

"South," Marach stated shortly.

"Cool! I'll come too--whoa!" She was nearly bowled over by a gleeful Kitty as he bounded back to Niira's side. The gryff noticed Meru and tilted his head curiously. "Aiee! What's that? Help!" Kitty had taken her ponytail in his beak and was tugging it gently.

Niira made no move to help the Wingly, instead stepped towards her father. "Is she always that...that..."

"Yes."


	21. Her Mother's Gift

Betcha weren't expecting Meru to pop up :D.

K, so a gryff is basically the Northland best of burden. They're bird-like, with four legs, four wings, and a long scaly tail. The heads kinda resemble an owl's, but with little bear-like ears, six eyes, and spikes on the forehead. Kinda cute, actually, in my opinion. They're commonly kept as pets (hence why Niira has Kitty), as well as cavalry mounts.

Also, they are fuzzy, and fuzzy is good.

If I can ever find a picture of him I drew, I'll be sure to link it in one of the future chapters.

-----

After the run-in with the Sandoran rogues, there was little resistance to Lavitz's decision to walk through the prairie instead. He did know the area well, and they moved quickly southward for several weeks. The landscape reminded Niira of the feliforms' territory in the Northlands, with its tall, dry grasses and sparse trees...and no towns in sight.

Unless the abandoned farms that stood in the distance counted. As the group neared the old buildings, a herd of wild horses suddenly bolted from behind what must have at one time been a house. Kitty eyed the beasts curiously, but Niira put a hand on his shoulder to stay him before he could decide to try to hunt one down.

Lavitz wore an odd smile. "Been a while since I've been here," he mused.

"Really?" Niira said, only half-interested. All this walking without even the slightest glimmer of magic that could be the Seventh was making her weary and hopeless.

"Well, I was being chased by Sandoran soldiers at the time..."

"Sounds exciting!" Meru piped up. She had found the remains of an old fence and was walking along the fallen wooden slats. One of the beams suddenly gave way, and she hopped to safety.

"It was until..." The knight looked around. "We should probably stop here for the night. We won't come across anything else before nightfall."

"Good idea," growled Marach. He had been silent for days straight from his crankiness at being on open terrain, which didn't bother Niira, except that he was surly at best when she asked for his help in talking to Serpent Mother. The hyaeniform stretched, accidentally smacking Kitty in the face. The gryff merely blinked and moved on.

-----

They decided on staying in the building that was the least dilapidated, a shed cluttered with various tools. But for some reason, Niira was unable to sleep. Something was bothering her, and it wasn't the wooden floor of the shed. She had slept on stone for years, the hard floor didn't cause her that much discomfort. No, it was something else she couldn't place.

When she was sure everyone else was asleep, she slipped back outside. Even Kitty was deep in slumber, his giant form curled up against the side of the shed. Niira stepped silently past him, heading for the crest of a nearby hill. Perhaps she just needed some time alone to think and figure out what occupied her tired mind.

She sat down in the night-chilled grass. Stretched above her was a sky full of stars, the same stars she remembered from the Northlands. They winked at her from their seats in the heavens. She watched them in silence.

After a few minutes, she realized that the stars were blinking in a sort of pattern, as if something large and black was moving in front of them. Or were they? Maybe she was just making things up in her exhausted mental state. As she continued watching, she realized that something was indeed moving around in front of them. She couldn't make it out, as whatever it was was a black as the night itself. _What on earth? It can't be Yinwu, he wouldn't have come unless I called him._

She began to get light-headed from sitting so stiffly as she observed the stars. But she dared not move. Something strange was going on.

She lost track of how long she watched the sky. She felt disembodied almost, as if she was floating among the stars, surrounded by their tiny lights. The dark form was still moving around, almost as if it was dancing. Finally, it pulled itself together in front of Niira, and although she couldn't see any of its features, she knew it was staring at her.

_Where are you going, my child?_

Niira knew the voice immediately. Serpent Mother. Serpent Mother was talking to _her_. She had spoken to the ancient Northlander on several occasions in the past, but then they had always been face-to-face in the physical world. Nothing like this. This...scared her.

_Where are you going?_ Serpent Mother repeated the question, patiently awaiting the answer.

"South." Niira's voice shook.

_Why?_

"Marach said...you said..."

_I did._

"Then why haven't we found anything yet?"

_Because my powers are still limited. Now you are close enough that I can find the Seventh._

"Where is he?"

There was silence for a moment. _Where the Seventh lives is not a good place. But it is where you must go._

"Where?"

Flashes of light burst around Niira, so bright they hurt. She closed her eyes to block out their glare, but they still danced in her mind. As the light dimmed, she opened her eyes again. Faint images began to form around her.

The ocean. The dark ocean of the south. An island set away from the black coast, a shattered bridge leading to it. The island came into sharper focus. It wasn't an island, truly, but a massive building built out of dark stone.

Into the building she went. Flames seemed to shoot up around her, and it took her a moment to realize it wasn't fire, but molten lava. The lava sank back down, and she followed it with her eyes. A river of magma flowed through the bottom-most levels of the building, through deep crevasses that criss-crossed the stone of the island. Even as high up as she assumed she was, she could feel its heat.

And then she saw them. Dark, twisted creatures dressed in black robes. They seemed to float across the floor as they moved. Magic rolled off them like the waves of heat from the lava. Within their group, a single figure pulsed with a silver light. The light of a dragoon spirit reacting to a kindred orb.

Niira recoiled from the view. _The Seventh...is...is...with _them_...oh gods...we're dead..._ There was a throbbing pain in her head.

Someone was pushing on her shoulder. "Niira! Niira! Come on, wake up!"

Niira opened her eyes, surprised to find herself laying on the hard ground of the prairie. The stars were still scattered above her, but their positions had shifted. _How long was I...wherever that was?_

"Oh good, you're all right!" Meru's ruby eyes stared down at her.

"What...happened..." Niira was too stiff to even sit up.

"I dunno. I heard you come outside. Thought you'd be back in a few minutes, but then you weren't so I came to look and you were sitting out here. And then you just fell over."

"I did?"

"Yeah."

"I don't remember that." Niira was able to sit up finally. "I need to talk to my father."

Meru made it to the old shed faster than Niira, and immediately set to poking the First Knight's arm. "Hey. Hey. Get up! Hey! Niira wants to talk to you!"

Lavitz rolled over, glaring at Meru. "What?"

Niira sat on one of the barrels in the room. "I...know where to find the Seventh now."

"That's wonderful. You needed to wake me up to tell me this?"

"Well, I don't know _where_ exactly this place is. I thought you might."

The knight sighed, shifting so he could lean back against some nondescript, broken pieces of wood.

"It's a dark building. On an island."

"What?" His voice was low, as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"An old building on an island in the southern ocean. Made of dark stone. There's a bridge going to it from the mainland but it's kind of collapsed. And there's lava going through the bottom of it."

Lavitz had a strange expression on his face. "Yes, I know where that is."

"That's where we have to go."

He shivered once. "It's Hellena. One of the worst prisons that was used during the Serdian War. I've spent far too much time in there for my liking."

_I've never heard this story before._

"What's a dragoon doing in there?"

It was Niira's turn to be terrified. "The dragoon is a Fireborn."

"What!" Marach snarled as he jumped into the conversation. Niira hadn't realized he was listening. "I knew the Seventh had turned tail on Serpent Mother, but...he's one of those damn murders?"

"Wazza Fireborn?" Meru asked.

Marach hissed. "Damn traitors."

"They...originally, they were just a different sect of magicians. Like our priests are. Except...they wanted more power than Northlanders are naturally capable of." Niira closed her eyes. "So they ended up surrendering parts of themselves, their souls and bodies, in order to gain power. Lots of power."

"They serve Phoenix now," Marach added. "A bad day that was, when he gained their support."

"But...why call them 'fireborn'?" Meru looked up at the dark Northlander.

"Because most of them end up using fire magic." He shook his head. "They're all insane. The whole lot of them. That's what makes them dangerous."

"_How did they get this far south into another continent without our knowledge?_" Niira said to Bead Pouncer.

"_I have no idea._"

"Well then, I have to come with you!" Meru's statement drew the attention of all.

"You don't know what they're like," Niira said. "_Nobody_ survives an encounter with them." _We're going to die._

"But if they're fire people, you'll need my help."

"Really."

"Yup! I'm the Blue Sea Dragoon!"

"She does have a point," Lavitz said.

"Of course I do!" She waved her arms around frantically.

_Even if we were all water dragoons, I doubt we'd get far with them. As it is, we aren't._

_Serpent Mother better have some grand plan to help us out here._


	22. Travel

Argh I had the hardest time writing this. There really isn't much information given about Rogue in the game, so I had to make up a bit of it myself. I also don't recall it ever being given a place on the map. To me, it seems like a place with Tiberoan culture--Tiberoa obviously has several coastal communities, like Rogue is, and Haschel looks like some of the other random Tiberoans you see in the game. So that's where I set Rogue for my fanfic. However, if anyone can provide information that either supports or denies my thoughts on this, let me know. I can't really change it for my fic now, but it'll be helpful to know for future reference. Thanks.

EDIT: Yes, I am now aware that I've pretty much put Rogue on the wrong side of the continent. At this point, I can't change that, but I will if I do any future drafts of the story. I'm sorry if this offends anyone's sensibilities, please just bear with me and my mistake. Hopefully it's the only major one I make in the story :).

-----

"What kind of name is 'Coen,' anyway?"

"A perfectly fine Serdian one."

"Talk about weird."

"Oh, if you want to play that game, 'Reezy' is a rather odd name."

"That's because it's not a name, it's a nickname."

"What kind of name would 'Reezy' be based on?"

The Northlander said a string of words Coen couldn't even begin to decipher. "It means 'Song on the Breeze' in your language. Niira told me so when I first met her. And then she just shortened it to 'Reezy' and now that's what everyone calls me."

"What kind of name is 'Song on the Breeze'?"

"A Northlander one, of course."

Alakyl sighed, rolling her pale eyes skyward. The two men had been picking on each other like this almost since they left Bale.

"It was given to me because I'm a musician."

"I thought you were a priest."

"That's what a warrior-bard is, where I come from."

"A fighting, singing priest. Great." Coen said that with far less sarcasm than he would have a week ago.

"Don't you forget it." Reezy stumbled on a loose rock. As the group had crossed over the mountains, the terrain had become too treacherous for the horses, and they had left the animals behind at the last village. There was no sense in getting slowed by an animal who had lamed itself by slipping down the rocky slopes. "How far away is this Rogue place now, anyway?"

"Can't be far," Coen replied."

"That's not very helpful."

"Sorry. I've never been to northern Tiberoa before. I've only seen the maps, it's a totally different thing to actually cross the land."

"So wait, you've never even been to this country before?"

"Yes I have. Just not the northern part."

"What's so interesting about the south?"

"The capital city."

"You humans have such strange cultures."

Coen just ignored that, concentrating for a moment on finding a safe path up the next hill. "Besides, Rogue isn't exactly part of Tiberoa, it's like...an island community that isn't really connected with any particular country. Tiberoa's just the easiest way to get to it."

They finally crested the hill. Before them lay a long, flat beach, with a few hazy islands visible in th distance.

"Rogue's on one of the further islands," Coen commented.

Alakyl barked excitedly a few times, her long tail waving back and forth.

"What're you going on about?"

"She likes the ocean," Reezy said. "Her race lives on islands. She hasn't been near any for a long time."

"Huh." _Sometimes, I wish I understood more of what's going on with everyone in the Northlands._ Coen started down the hill, careful not to slide down the pebbly slope. Alakyl raced past him, her four feet giving her a much more solid footing. She didn't stop when she reached the bottom of the hill, running for the ocean. In a few minutes, she was a mere reddish smudge against the pale sands as she played in the breakers that pounded on the coast.

"How exactly do you intend to _get_ to the island?" Reezy followed Coen's cue, finding the studier stones to step on.

"Not sure."

"You are horrible at planning these kinds of trips, you know?"

"There's got to be some ship in one of the coastal towns willing to take us there. We just need to look around a bit."

"Do you always do things so haphazardly?"

"Usually."

"And yet you're some important military guy."

"That's the reason I'm allowed to keep my post."

"What, stupidity?"

"I prefer to call it a...lack of applied common sense."

-----

Coen was right in that they could find a ship in one of the towns. A merchant was making a run to a port in the northeast of Mille Seasau, and he would be passing close enough to the islands that moving a few leagues closer to them for Coen's sake wouldn't be much of a problem for him, for a price of course. They couldn't leave until the next morning, though, as that was when the tide would favor them. This minor setback frustrated Coen, but he resigned himself to the wait.

He managed to find a room at one of the inns for himself and the Northlanders, and they retired there early that evening. At least, they tried to. Alakyl was not allowed in due to her sand-laden fur, so Reezy (she still didn't trust Coen) had to spend quite a while helping her get her fur clean again. Once they were in for the night, Coen ended up surrendering his bed to Alakyl, as he was too edgy to sleep. Even such a small wait such as this one worried him. He had no idea how much longer King Albert could hold on, whether it was months or weeks or just days.

Coen was sitting outside before the sun rose. He had no idea how long he had been out there, but his muscles protested with stiffness when he moved to stand. _Should go get Reezy and Alakyl, I guess..._

But Reezy was waiting at the front door of the end. "You know, it'd be nice if you didn't just disappear randomly in the middle of the night."

"Is that a touch of worry I hear in your voice?"

Reezy scowled.

"I was just coming up to get you."

The Northlander shrugged. "I wake up early. I was under the impression that you didn't."

"I don't." Coen did in fact rather like his sleep, although he tended to get precious little of it.

"So, you skip sleep like this often?"

"Sometimes."

"Why?"

The knight didn't answer him, instead heading upstairs to collect his few supplies and Alakyl.

Within a few minutes, the group was making their way back to the docks, where the merchant awaited them. The man's ship was not terribly large, but it would suit their purpose well enough. Coen wished, though, that they could approach Rogue with a bit more protection. _But I guess asking for the whole damn _Queen Fury_ would really cause a lot of commotion. I wonder if we could have gotten the use of her if Albert asked..._ Coen found himself distracted by this train of thought.

It took him a while to realize that Reezy was no longer walking with him. Pausing to look around for the priest, Coen saw him hanging back, eying the merchant's ship with clear distaste. "Come on."

Reezy didn't move.

Coen sighed. "What's wrong?"

"I'm a cat. I hate water."

"It's a ship. You won't be in the water, you'll be on it."

"Exactly." Reezy shuddered.

"How'd you get over here from the Northlands?"

"Flew on Kitty."

"Oh. Right. Well, you can always just wait here and we'll contact you after we figure out what happened in Rogue."

"No, I'm coming. I just thought you might want to know about my hydrophobia before-hand." Reezy reluctantly stepped up the gangplank.

-----

The trip to Rogue was shorter than Coen had expected. Even still, Reezy kept himself locked below decks, refusing to eat anything and constantly complaining about "slimy, cold, nasty water." Coen, on the other hand, spent his time leaning against the deck rails, looking out across the water. He had never been on a ship before, and while the feeling of rolling across the water was interesting, he decided early on that he preferred his solid ground.

One late afternoon, the merchant walked over to him, smiling and humming to himself. "Your friend's not so fond of the water, huh?"

"Not really."

"It's not for everyone, I suppose."

"I can see why." Looking at nothing but the same water and distant islands for days straight was certainly enough to drive anyone mad.

"Say, what brings you two to Rogue anyway? Not many people go there."

_Oh shit._ Coen was never good at coming up with cover stories on the spot. Even if he had time to prepare, his stories never seemed to work. "Just...visiting an old friend."

"Uh-huh."

Coen knew that tone of voice. He had failed once again. _Of course that story wouldn't work, why would anyone 'just visiting a friend' be carrying weapons?_

"Well, like I said, not many people go there. Not much of anything comes and goes from that place. Always quiet."

"Really?" the knight said slowly, trying to think of how to get out of this conversation...or possibly press the merchant for information about what happened. "I was told...we haven't heard from our friend in a few months, and it isn't like him to just stop communicating unexpectedly like that."

"Now that you mention that..." The merchant sounded thoughtful, as if he had just remembered something.

Coen tried not to get his hopes up too much.

The man leaned closer to him. "Word around the towns is that nobody's heard from the whole community of Rogue in many months. They say strange things happen near there. Those who go to the island don't return. Even King Zior sent a small detachment of knights there...and they were never heard from again. Or so the rumors say." The merchant looked out across the water, his face sad. "This friend of yours must be very special indeed if you're willing to take such a big risk."

Coen's blood ran cold. "He is," he said, in a voice that sounded hollow to his own ears. _Great Soa above...what have I gotten myself into? What on earth made Albert think a single knight and a couple companions could face this? Has he gone insane? Have _I_ gone insane?_ He grimaced.

"Well, I hope he's all right. Hope it's just an issue of not being able to leave the island for some reason, and nothing else."

"Me too."_ Any god who cares to listen, please let the Moon Gem's replacement be safe._


	23. Rogue

The island was eerily quiet, even at the distance the ship sat from it. A few of the inhabitants stared at the ship from the platforms that supported the buildings of the community, but they made no move to greet the visitors. Eventually, a gate opened beneath one of the lower levels, and a child in a small boat oared his way across the water.

Ignoring the unsettled feeling in his stomach, Coen hurried below decks to the room Reezy had confined himself to. He strode quickly to the cot where the priest was laying and shook his shoulder. "Get up. We're here."

Reezy moaned softly and shakily got to his feet. Alakyl was by his side in an instant, her legs stiff, ears pinned forward.

_She can feel it too. Something's not right. The people of Rogue look fine from here, and they can still obviously leave, but they haven't._ There was a nagging in the back of Coen's mind that they were walking right into a trap, that the boy in the boat had been allowed to leave so that they could be brought back there. He pushed those thoughts aside, determined. _I _will_ find out what's happened here._

Alakyl was the first down to the boat. She didn't make a sound as a rope was tied around her chest, allowing her to be lowered to the waiting boy. Reezy, and then Coen, climbed down a rope ladder to meet her. The ladder was pulled back up; the boy set his oar against the side of the ship and pushed away.

"You shouldn't have come," the child said once they were out of hearing range of the ship. His voice had a distant, ghost-like quality.

"We have important business here," Coen replied. "Where's Master Haschel?"

The boy's face grew pale, even despite his tanned skin.

"I'm a knight of Serdio, sent here by King Albert. Answer me." Coen saw little reason to hide their purpose now.

"He...went off into the woods..."

"How long ago?"

"Four months. He never came back."

"Why did he leave?"

"To fight the monsters."

"What monsters?"

Again the boy refused to answer. Coen and Reezy had to duck as they passed under the gate into the village. It closed silently behind them.

_I guess this is it._ "We have to see Haschel. How far away is the forest?"

"J-just outside the city. To the south."

"Thank you." As the boat slowed to a stop next to a dock, Coen was the first out. He didn't even check to make sure Reezy and Alakyl followed, only immediately started up the nearby ladder. _We have to get to the forest today. Before the sun goes down. I'm not so sure I want to be dealing with these 'monsters' in the dark._

As he reached the top of a series of ladders, he found himself facing an old man. Though he was dressed simply, like everyone in Rogue, he had a certain aura of importance about him. "So," he said simply. "You say you're from Serdio?"

"News travels quickly around here," Coen mused, truly surprised. _Then again, I guess the boy would know a faster way up than the way we just came._ He stepped aside to make room for Reezy and Alakyl. The wolf had no problem going up ladders, it was coming down them that could be difficult.

"I assume you're here for whatever it was Master Haschel was being so secretive about."

"Yes. King Albert sent us to find out why it never reached him."

"I'll tell you why. We were attacked."

"Attacked? By who?" Coen looked around the village. The buildings and platform structures appeared completely unharmed. Whoever had attacked had either been met in battle outside the village, or was just _very_ clean about the way they did things.

"We were hoping you could tell us."

_That's definitely something you don't hear every day._ "What do you know about them?"

"They're unlike anything we've ever seen before. Like animals, but intelligent like humans. They came from the forest. Ho they got here, we don't know."

Coen glanced at Reezy and Alakyl. _Sounds almost like Northlanders. I don't know of any other kind of animal that's as intelligent as humans. Not even dragons._

"We never see them any more. But we know they're waiting in the forest. Whenever someone tries to leave, they come in the form of smoke and kill. And then disappear again. The people are too frightened to do anything any more."

"I understand."

Alakyl growled softly, he fur ruffled out.

"I agree," Reezy said softly. Turning to Coen, he added, "I think I know who, or at least what, has done this. If I'm correct, there is no chance we'll be getting that object back for King Albert."

Coen clenched his jaw, trying to ignore him. _Intelligent animals that could best Haschel _and_ the other dragoon who's here, can remain unseen and yet emerge to kill anyone who tries to leave. Nice._ "We'll figure this out," he said to the old man. "We're going to have a look around the forest before the sun goes down. Make sure nobody tries to tag along."

"Don't worry, nobody will."

-----

The forest was easy enough to find, just as the boy on the boat had said. From the outside, it appeared calm and still, like any forest on a warm afternoon. Yet within it was something mysterious and dangerous. Something that would probably love to take the life of any who ventured near.

Coen ran his hand over his sword's pommel, and stepped into the dimmed light of the forest.

-----

Dun dun duuuuuunn. Cliffhanger, ahoy!


	24. To Hellena

Short chapter. Because I don't want it to run together with the next part.

-----

It was just like Niira had seen in the vision. The black tower on the island, the broken bridge leading to it... She could even just make out the dim red glow of the lava in some of the lower windows. Smoke and ash left a dark track across the sky for miles. The only signs of life anywhere nearby were a few tough grasses that tried to hold on in the crevasses of some rocks, and a handful of birds that slowly circled up and down the coastline.

The closer they came to Hellena, the more distressed Lavitz became. He even stopped talking, only looking at the ground, as if trying to keep the deathly once-prison from occupying his vision. Niira, in her cat-like curiosity, wanted to know what had happened to him here that made him so uncomfortable to be near the place even over a decade later. But her better sense got a hold of her, and she didn't ask.

The place seemed to cast a mood of despair over everything and everyone. Marach complained, as usual, about just walking into Hellena using the front door. But after a while, the gloom of their surroundings got to even him, and he fell silent. Only Meru and Kitty seemed impervious to the depressing effects of the prison island.

The shattered bridge slowed their progress considerably, as they often had to jump over cracks in the stone, or even backtrack and find a new way across. Ever since Imperial Sandora had been defeated, nobody had bothered to maintain Hellena. Nobody _wanted_ to maintain it.

Eventually, they reached a wide hole in the bridge that crossed its entire width. There was no way to get around it, and it was too big for easily jump across. But that didn't deter Niira. Slipping to the back of the group, she shifted into her feline form. Then she took a running jump at the gap. Even with her animal attributes, she barely cleared the hole, quickly scrabbling for a clawhold on the stone on the other side. She hung there for a moment, trying to calm her racing heart, then pulled herself up. Marach soon followed suit.

"Hmph. Well that's just great." Meru gave the Northlanders an accusing glare, her hands planted firmly on her small hips. "How are we supposed to get across?"

"You're a Wingly," Niira said. "Fly over."

"What about Lavitz?"

There was absolutely no way the knight could make it across the gap, especially considering the armor he was wearing. Niira smiled slightly. "See, I told you Kitty would come in handy. He can jump across."

"He can, can he?" Lavitz eyed the beast suspiciously. Kitty was giving Niira a plaintive look, as if unhappy about the hole that separated them.

"Of course he can. Just get up on his back and hold on."

He sighed, but followed his daughter's advice. Niira watched him pull himself onto Kitty's back. The gryff made a croaking sound low in his throat and shifted under the new weight. He wiggled his wings, making sure they were free, and turned his ears back, waiting for a command. The knight tucked his spear under his knee, holding it tightly against the gryff's side, and grabbed a hold of the beast's feathery neck ruff.

Niira gave a short high-pitched whistle. With a lurch, the gryff bounded forward the few steps to the gap. Then, bunching his hind legs, he leapt into the air. He landed on the other side with an audible thud, then bounced once, as if proud of himself.

"Wow!" exclaimed Meru as she floated across, her wings of light bright against the surrounding dullness. "Didjoo see that? Like a horse with springs on his feet! I get him next time!"

Lavitz slid off the gryff's back. "You can have him. If we're going to do any more flying, I'd prefer to use my own wings."


	25. What Happened in the Forest

Just a quick author's note! A kopis, the sword Reezy uses, is a single-edged sword that curves forward. It's used to make heavy chopping blows. Comes from the Mediterranean. Yup.

-----

There was a sort of path cutting through the trees, and this is what Coen followed. Thy hadn't run into any monsters, or the intelligent animals, or the fearsome 'Fireborn' that Reezy mentioned. But perhaps they would only come out when they tried to leave. Which of course left the problem of what to do once they were ready to head back to Bale. Coen tried not to think about it.

Abruptly, they were in a clearing. Or what Coen thought was a clearing at first. Alakyl growled loudly at it, and he knew exactly why. They were standing in front of a shimmering wall. It was unnatural; even someone as uninterested in magic as Coen could tell it had magical origins.

"I don't like this at all," Reezy moaned.

Coen drew his sword and approached the wall.

"It reeks of Fireborn."

The knight tried to ignore Reezy. He lifted his sword and touched its tip to the wall. Nothing happened. He pushed it in about halfway, drew it out. Again nothing. The sword was untouched, and the wall had offered little resistance to it. _What's the point of making a barrier that doesn't actually keep things out?_

_Or maybe it's keeping things _in. That made more sense to him. _I have a feeling that whatever we're looking for is beyond this wall. But if it's made to keep things in, how will we get back out?_ Steeling himself, Coen walked right up to the wall--and stepped through it.

He could hear Alakyl yelping from the other side, but th sound was muted and distant. "I'm fine!" he shouted, just to make sure they could hear him. _All right...let's see what happens if..._ Again he went to the wall and walked through it. _So we can get out. What the hell is the purpose of the wall then?_

"Come on. It won't hurt you." Coen beckoned for the Northlanders to follow as he stepped inside again. A few moments later, Alakyl poked her head through, then quickly came through and stood by his side, as if afraid to be too far away from someone. Reezy followed soon after, looking as miserable as ever.

"We still in the forest?" the priest said.

"Looks like it." There were some trees scattered throughout the area enclosed by the wall. The barrier even extended above their heads, although it didn't clear the tops of the trees. _So nobody would ever see it unless they ran into it like we did._

The light from the wall reflected on the forest like sunlight off water. Coen assumed that this light was always here, even at night.

"So...why block off this portion of the forest?"

"I was trying to figure that out myself. It's obviously not a wall for anything physical. Maybe..." Then he saw something that erased that line of thinking from his mind.

Between two trees across the enclosure hung a dragoon. A few feet beyond him was a second dragon warrior. Coen couldn't see what they were hanging from, as they didn't touch the trees, just appeared to hover there, motionless. Their wings were splayed to the sides, as if pinned against a flat surface. The near dragoon wore purple armor, while his companion, who had to be twice his size, wore armor of gold. Their limbs were held spread-eagle in the air, presumably by the same force that held them up between the trees. Their eyes were closed, as if in a peaceful sleep.

Coen and his partners walked slowly towards them. "It must be Hascel," Coen said softly. "What the hell is going on?" _Maybe the wall is to keep in some sort of magic that has the dragoons trapped..._

"We should leave," Reezy mewed, nervousness apparent in his words.

"Not without them." Coen came close to the sleeping dragoons. He could see now that there was something holding them aloft, a strange, nearly transparent, wire that wrapped around them, keeping them immobile. He touched the wire gently, and immediately regretted it. Pain like a living fire shot through his arm. _Goddamn it, that's my sword arm..._

Reezy was uneasily shifting on his feet. "We shouldn't be here."

"Then help me get them down!" Shaking his arm to restore feeling, Coen stepped back to find where the wires were attached to the trees. Spying the glint of the lines, he raised his sword and brought it down on the wire. Immediately his weapon became hot to the touch, nearly burning his hands even through the leather binding of the grip. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Coen continued hacking at the magical wires. Eventually, the apprehensive Reezy joined in as well, using his own heavy kopis.

As Master Haschel fell to the ground, Alakyl ran forward and began gnawing at the wires that still bound his body. Her mouth soon became raw, but she continued in earnest. The light of the wall around them seemed to flicker.

It took the two men a bit longer to get the larger dragoon down, and he hit the earth with a dull thump. The wall flickered a few last times, then disappeared altogether. Coen and Reezy ran around him, pulling the wires free.

A coughing was heard from Haschel as the wires around his upper body were loosened. His dragoon armor instantly broke away, fading into the air. Alakyl barked once at him, then continued tugging at the wires around his legs.

"What...who...my legs..."

"Hold on Master Haschel," Coen said as he worked on freeing the golden dragoon. He winced as the burning lines bit into his hands, leaving painful welts that were soon bleeding. "Alakyl's almost got you free."

"Who...are you?" The dragoon managed to get himself in a sitting position.

"I'm Coen Verachmenn, head of the Third Knighthood of Serdio."

"Serdio..." The elder man was still dazed.

"King Albert sent me to find out what happened here."

"Albert? Oh no..." Haschel seemed to finally come to his senses. He kicked the last of the wires from his feet. "How long have I been here?"

"Four months, I think."

"Oh no..." He tried to stand, but couldn't. Instead, he scooted back against one of the trees. "Is Albert all right?"

"He was fine when I left. Well, as good as he could be."

"What does that mean?"

"He's not dead yet. But he was in a lot of pain." Coen couldn't believe he was talking about his king like that.

"Ugh...Kongol's head..." The giant dragoon finally sat up, also now devoid of his magical armor.

Confident that Reezy could assist the golden dragoon if needed, Coen turned to Master Haschel. "What happened here? Why did the new Moon Object never reach Bale?"

"I wish I knew." Haschel shook his head sadly. "Soon after the Moon Scintillation reached Rogue, those _things_ came."

"What things?"

"The beasts that walked on two legs. The people of the village didn't even bother to put up a fight, it was that sudden."

"What did they look like?" Reezy asked over his shoulder as he continued helping the other dragoon.

"The ones I could see were like...rats. Only worse. Some were as tall as a man."

Reezy hissed something in the Northland tongue.

"You know them?"

"Possibly."

"There were others with them. Well...at least one other, it was hard to tell. Dressed in black, moved around like smoke. He was the one who did this to Kongol and I. He was too powerful, even for us both."

Alakyl growled something at Reezy.

"I know," Reezy replied. "I told you we shouldn't have come here."

"What are they?" the violet dragoon insisted.

"Sounds like Phoenix has made himself a welcome in Endiness. Damn it, what the hell is he doing here?" Coen had never heard the Northlander so irate.

"Who? What phoenix?" Haschel stood, leaning against the tree for support.

"No, that's his name. He's from my homeland. A perpetually pissed-off demi-god." He faced the rest of the group, having removed the last bits of wire from Kongol. "The rat guys, the musteliforms, are his main force. We've been fighting them for generations."

"Did they leave Rogue alone?"

"Looks like it," Coen said. "But they have the people scared stiff."

"That would be the shadow guy, not the weasels," Reezy explained. "It's a Fireborn. They have a damn Fireborn with them."

Alakyl growled again.

"Yes, I agree. We need to leave _now._"

"Where's the...Moon Scintillation?" Coen asked.

"Taken," rumbled Kongol.

Haschel nodded his agreement. "They found it somehow while Kongol and I were fighting the Fireborn."

"Great. Any idea where they took it?"

"No. The ones who took it just disappeared. We tried to follow them, but...that was when the Fireborn decided to just get it over with and strung us up between the trees."

"They would probably have taken it to wherever the rest of the Fireborn are now," Reezy said. "Although I have no idea why they'd want to mess with Serdio. It's an odd move for them."

Alakyl barked a few times.

"Right, figure that out later."

Alakyl suddenly whipped her head around. Coen followed her gaze. Not even twenty feet away stood what could only be one of the rat-people Haschel spoke of. Though he hardly even came to Coen's chest, there was a menacing air about him that more than made up for his lack of height. Upon seeing the freed dragoons and their rescuers, he let out a shrill cry and drew his sword.

"_Now_ can we go?" Reezy said.

As one, the group turned and ran. Coen wasn't the least bit certain where they were running to, all he knew was that the rat creature was somewhere behind him, and that more had to be on the way.

Alakyl raced past him, easily outpacing the others. She splashed across a small river and started up the bank. Then she stopped suddenly, veering to one side. A whole group of rat-people emerged from the trees to block her way. Coen saw another group to his right, and could hear more behind him. He stopped at the river. They were surrounded.

Instinctively, the group formed a small circle, facing outwards with weapons in hand as the Northlanders closed in around them, their numbers becoming greater every moment.

And then the rat-people charged. But thy never had a chance to strike their targets.

The moment the musteliforms had moved, Coen was blinded by a flash of purple-fringed orange light. He caught a glimpse of great glittering wings spreading above him, and then he was blinded by a brilliant rainbow light.

They were suddenly no longer in the forest.

Shocked by the sudden change of scenery, everyone fell over. Everyone except Alakyl, who hovered above them, clad in shimmering orange and purple armor. The wolf lowered herself slowly, softly landing on the grassy ground.

"What in the five hells was that!" Coen exclaimed as he pulled himself to his feet.

"Wuff." Knight and dragoon stared at each other for a moment.

_I mean, I brought her along because she's a dragoon, but I didn't know dragoon could do _that

"That's dragoon magic for you," Haschel said. "Although I certainly have never seen any like that."

"Wuff! Says wuff!"

"Chaos energy," Reezy stated. "I'm not really sure what I could compare it to for it to make sense."

"It doesn't matter," replied Haschel quickly. "We've got a head start on the rat-people. Let's not waste it."

"How do you know we haven't gone in the wrong direction?" Coen snapped.

"Those mountains," Haschel said, pointing to faded shapes in the distance, "make up the Tiberoa-Serdio border."

_Well, how am I supposed to recognize them from the other side?_

"We've been transported to the mainland, about twenty miles east of Rogue."

"Go see King Albert," Kongol said. "Albert knows what to do."

"I sure hope so," Coen muttered.


	26. Trouble

So! Niira and co. are headed into Hellena. What joys await in the old prison? Well...

-----

Even the interior of Hellena was exactly like her vision. It was lit more by the rivers of magma down below than what little sunlight came in through the windows and holes where the outer wall had fallen in. And the heat was horrendous. Niira lay her ears back irritably.

"We should split up," Marach said. "No sense in giving the Fireborn a chance to kill us all at once."

"Thank you for being so optimistic," Niira muttered dully.

In the end, it was decided that Meru and Niira would head east, and Marach, Lavitz, and Kitty would go west. That way, each group had at least one dragoon, and Kitty could assist the one non-dragoon if needed. They had no idea if theey would ever meet again in the massive building. But they said nothing in the way of goodbyes. They simply turned away and started walking.

Meru was, surprisingly, silent during their trek. The oppressiveness of the former prison seemed geared exactly for causing silence. They walked along one of the old stone roads, guided only by the light of the lava.

Time was impossible to keep track of in Hellena. Perhaps thy had only been in there for a few hours, or maybe even days by now. Niira, in any case, was hopelessly lost. How many turns had they made now? Had they gone up or down or where they still on the same level?

They stopped to rest for the fourth--or was it fifth now?--time since entering Hellena. Niira was beginning to doubt her vision. Surely Serpent Mother wouldn't direct her here and then just leave her to get lost and die. She had to have remembered the vision incorrectly.

"Hey, we have to run into something sooner or later." Meru said again.

"We're lost, Meru," Niira said shortly. "We'd be lucky to ever find the front gate again." That ended the conversation, as brief as it had been to begin with.

Lavitz and Marach were having similar luck. Lavitz remembered absolutely nothing about the confusing layout of the prison, although he was quick to point out that at the time, there had been lights throughout the building, but even still, he hadn't been in any condition to be memorizing where he was.

At least they had Kitty to lean against when they rested. The giant gryff seemed to enjoy having someone sitting next to him, often closing his eyes contentedly or even giving a soft whistling purr. But Marach preferred to sit by himself on the rocks, not liking to get too comfortable. It was because of this that he was the first to hear the noises.

"Get up, human," he growled in a low voice.

"What?"

"There's something beyond the turn ahead."

Silently, they crept along the path, following a curve in the wall until they were looking out across a large open chamber. The rivers of lava were clearly visible from their vantage point. Lavitz hadn't realized they had travel so far down into Hellena.

Marach was staring fixedly elsewhere, though. There was a rocky outcropping above the lava. And something occupied that outcrop.

It was impossible to tell how many of the shadowy creatures there were. Lavitz could make out the heads, and sometimes an arm, even what looked like tails, but the creatures seemed to be merged into one dark smokey mass, making an exact count, at best, extremely difficult. There had to be hundreds of them at the very least. They swept across the stony floor, almost appearing to float, as they talked amongst themselves in hushed voices.

Marach was growling softly.

"So those are Fireborn?"

"Yes." The guardsman's ears turned back. "There are so many of them..." It was perhaps the only time Lavitz could remember ever hearing fear in Bead Pouncer's voice.

Backing away form the edge of the path so they wouldn't be seen, they followed it as it took a downward slope. Lavitz hoped they could get a closer look, perhaps find something to help him identify where the Fireborn were, so they could find Niira and Meru and bring them back to the room. But the path turned away from the Fireborns' meeting grounds. Eventually, they emerged into another chamber, smaller than the last one, and lit not by molten rock but a single vial hung from the ceiling. It was filled with a liquid that gave off a soft, weak silver glow.

"Starfire," Marach muttered. "It's a substance our magicians make often back home."

Kitty hooted softly, sounding intrigued by the light. Lavitz reached up to lay his hand on the beasts neck, to prevent him from investigating the vial. But Kitty wasn't there. Worried, Lavitz looked around him. Kitty was nowhere to be seen. Which meant he had gone back up the path. Lavitz cursed softly to himself. "That beast ran off without us," he said to Marach.

"So go find him."

The knight tapped the butt end of his spear against the floor a couple times, by way of expressing frustration with the hyaeniform's surly attitude. "Fine."

Then Marach jumped. "Run!" he shouted.

Before lavitz could do so, he felt something sharp, and definitely meant for hurting someone, press against his armorless thigh. Marach must have been having the same experience, for he stood stock-still.

"Brave fools," a silky voice whispered in Lavitz's ear.

_Didn't even hear her coming...damn it._

"You had better pray to whatever gods you follow for a rescue, or else you may find yourselves fodder for the wizards. They have no eaten in such a long time." The unseen female spoke the words seductively, with a slight hiss to her words that indicated an inhuman mouth was saying those words.

Lavitz knew he was shaking. He swallowed once. He and Marach had little chance of getting away from their captor. He had a sinking feeling she was one of the Fireborn, and there was no doubt her companions would come to aid her if she called for them. And yet the chances of Niira and Meru suddenly finding them in the huge building, and soon, were very slim indeed.

He wasn't one to die without a fight.

In a swift motion, he lifted up his spear and jerked its blunt end backwards.


	27. Facing Failure

They had to move faster. Coen feared having to face King Albert with the report that he had failed, again. Yet at the same time, the sooner they returned to Bale, the sooner something could be done about the missing Moon Scintillation.

He remembered that some of the mountain streams flowed down into the river that traced its way past Bale. Perhaps they could find a boat to take them down one of those. It would save days of traveling time if they could.

Coen voiced this idea to the others at the campfire that first night away from the forest of Rogue and its deadly inhabitants. Reezy wasn't keen on being on the water again, but he agreed that it was the best plan of action. Alakyl and Kongol had been absent from this discussion, as they had fallen asleep somewhere nearby. They had taken a liking to each other almost immediately, and the wolf enjoyed sleeping draped across the Giganto's arm.

Coen was glad he had at least remembered to bring some healing potions with him. He was even more glad to find that the glasses had remained miraculously intact. He gratefully rubbed the salve over his wounded hands, wincing as the healing effects took hold. Reezy was hesitant to use the substance at first, but in the end he too used it. He stared at his palms, amazed as the skin pulled itself back together. "Amazing," he said.

"It doesn't work as perfectly on more serious injuries," Coen explained. "But it does help."

"I can imagine. Wonder if Alakyl needs some..."

"She's obviously not in enough pain to forgo sleep. We can ask her tomorrow."

"Do you not have such things where you come from?" questioned Haschel.

"No. We keep...I think you call them fireflies. Keep them in little cages, carry them around with us."

"Rock fireflies?"

"I suppose."

"We have them around here, but they're pretty rare," Coen said.

"I don't think I've ever seen them in Tiberoa," Haschel mused.

"Oh, we raise them. They're rare in the wild back home too."

"Hmm. What brings you to Endiness, Reezy?" Haschel sat comfortably with his legs crossed, a hand resting on each knee.

"I followed my cousin here."

"Your cousin?"

"Yeah. Niira."

Haschel appeared thoughtful. "She lives here? Or was she just taking a trip and forgot to tell you?"

"She lives in Serdio. Well, she was born there."

"One of your people lives down here?"

"Er, her mother did. Niira's actually only half Northlander, he father'..."

"Don't tell me!" Haschel leaned forward. "She can't be Lavitz's daugher."

"Yeah." Reezy eyed him suspiciously.

"I thought the name sounded familiar."

"You know about her? I thought Lavitz wasn't too keen on talking about what happened."

"He wasn't. I actually heard about it from Dart. A mutual friend. Even Albert refused to say anything to us, out of respect for Lavitz."

"Speaking of the king..." Reezy stretched a leg. "How do you intend on telling him what happened?" The general question was directed at Coen.

"I don't know." Coen frowned. He wasn't looking forward to that at all. _I always have the worst things to report._

"It's I who should be worried about that." Haschel played with the end of his mustache. "He entrusted me with the situation."

"It's not your fault," Reezy said, trying to comfort the older man. "I'm surprised you're even still alive after dealing with a Fireborn."

"That doesn't change the fact that the Moon Scintillation is gone. Albert's life depends on that object." Haschel sighed. "I doubt there'd be time to make another. I'm not even sure making another one is possible."

"Hey, there's still a chance we can get it back," the priest said. "We may not know where it is right now, but it's bound to turn up sooner or later. It was made for a single purpose, I doubt the magic could be twisted for any other use, even by Phoenix himself. And there's really no point in destroying something that could be used as a powerful bargaining chip. Yeah...it has to surface eventually."

"Yes, but how long will it take this Phoenix to figure that out? Albert may not have that kind of time."

This line of conversation chilled Coen. "Let's concentrate on getting to Bale first," he interjected. "One step at a time."

-----

The throne room was brightly lit by the sunlight that streamed in through the tall windows. Nobles paced around the main floor, and up by the thrones, Albert's trusted advisor Minister Noish was talking with a knight whose name Coen couldn't recall off the top of his head. Upon the group's entrance, all eyes were turned to them.

Coen immediately went down on one knee, bowing to his king. "Your majesty. We have returned from the task you sent us on."

"What did I say about large groups, Coen?" Though Albert's voice had the friendly lilt of familiarity, he also sounded tired.

"They insisted on coming, my lord."

"Very well. Rise and tell us of your travels."

Coen did as such, pulling himself as upright as he could. Albert was leaning back in his throne, a posture not typical of the king. Coen thought he looked as if he had lost weight since their departure, but he tried not to dwell on it. "If you don't mind, your majesty, this is for your ears only." _He has to know now. He has to know that we failed._

The king only nodded and waved away Noish. The minister called for the throne room to be vacated; the nobles obeyed, heading for the various exits. Albert even sent his wife away. Coen wondered if she knew of the truth behind the king's apparent illness. When the last door had closed, Coen and his group dared approach the throne.

"What happened?" Albert asked, his voice low.

"It was my fault," Haschel started.

"Mine too," Kongol thundered.

"My friend..." The king was going to say something else, but he was stopped by a fit of coughing.

When the coughing subsided, Haschel continued. "I had the Moon Scintillation. I had it in my hands...I thought it had been locked away where no one could get to it. But then...we were attacked by an enemy we did not know how to fight."

"Fireborn, you majesty," Reezy added. "And some of Phoenix's personal troops."

"Phoenix?" Albert's voice was weak now. "He's that 'great enemy' Marach always spoke of, isn't he?"

"Yes."

There was a sudden rage in the king that made the back of Coen's neck tingle. "What the _hell_ does he think he's doing, hounding an innocent party?" Albert's brown eyes narrowed dangerously, and in the moment Coen could see the old fire in him, the fighting spirit that could turn the peace-loving king into a warrior.

"I have no idea." Reezy's face expressed confusion. "I said to them before, it is a very strange move for him. He wouldn't do it unless he wanted to try to force something from you using the Moon Scintillation as the leverage."

Coen suddenly felt a panic. "Niira?" If her uncle knew she was down here, and _he_ wanted her back, was there something about her that made her desirable to Phoenix as well?

Alakyl growled, shaking her head.

"She says that he does know that she's here, but that's not who or what he's after," Reezy translated.

"That doesn't help my current situation," Albert said. "So, I'm assuming these 'Fireborn' took the Moon Scintillation. Where is it now?"

"Well...I _think_ it's the Fireborn who have it now, in which case it'd be wherever they're camping out now. But, if the musteliforms took it, there's really no telling where it is now. It could just be at one of their camps, or Phoenix could have it already. In either case, it's going to be damn near impossible to retrieve it."

"Do you have any idea where either group is located?"

"No." Reezy looked ashamed. "I wish there was more I could do for you. We've been fighting them for centuries and we still haven't figured out their patterns of movement outside of war."

"I appreciate your concern," the king said calmly. He sighed, shuddering from the pain the deep breath drew. "I guess there is nothing we can do at the present time," he said at last.

"Bead Pouncer might know more about them, since he's more in touch with Serpent Mother than I am."

"Then we'll just have to wait for him to return." Albert managed a smile. "In the mean time, I'd like to talk with you, Master Haschel and Kongol. It's been years now, hasn't it?"

-----

The Fallen magician-priests had sent the word to him. The humans knew their precious Moon Object was missing now. He closed his eyes happily, rubbing his clawed hands together. Good. His plan was working perfectly.

_Soon, Serpent Mother, this pointless war will be at an end. Your precious thread of hope will shortly be in my claws, and you along with her._ He hissed with pleasure. He had waited for this moment ever since their arrival on this world. The moment when all creatures would bow to him, or perish beneath his flames.

_Now...we wait for her to return. Even if she finds the Seventh, that will not change the outcome._

_They are all pawns in my hand._

-----

Okay. With switch between the two groups, there may be some confusion as to what happens when. Basically, the only thing you need to know is that Niira's group left first, but Coen's group returns first. Everything in between isn't really on a set timeline. So feel free to interpret that however.


	28. Lost and Found

Whoa sorry about the mad update dump yesterday. I was on a roll, what can I say?

-----

Niira was alone.

Alone in the inky blackness of the pits of Hellena. She was beginning to understand why her father had been so terrified of the place.

She and Meru had been startled to run into Kitty in one of the long corridors. The big beast was alone, and walked with a slight limp in a hind leg from where he must have slipped on loose stones somewhere along the way. Which made Niira fret about where her father and Marach were, and why Kitty had left them.

"Maybe he was sent to find us," Meru commented.

Then the gryff had turned around and started walking back down the path he had taken. Meru ran after him, but before Niira could follow they had disappeared into the darkness.

She had tried to follow them, but began to get the feeling that she was just running in circles. Crushed, tired, and terrified, she curled up on the floor, ready to give in to whatever fate awaited her in the depths of the prison.

_Hurry, child._

The voice pulled her back. "Serpent Mother?" But the darkness didn't answer. Niira stood once more. "Where the hell do you want me to go? I can't see a damn thing and I'm lost!" Again, no answer.

Sighing, Niira started walking again. She stepped with her eyes half-closed, not caring any more if she ran into a wall or fell down one of the crevasses. Sooner or later she had to find the rivers of fire again. At least then she would be able to seee what she was doing.

At first she thought here eyes were playing tricks on her. But no, there really was a light up ahead. It wasn't the hellish glow of the lava, but something dimmer, light pale starlight. Dropping to all fours, she crawled along the path and cautiously peeked over its edge.

The light came from a hanging vial of starfire. It illuminated a strange scene. On one side of the room, backed against the wall, were her father, Marach, and Meru; Kitty was nowhere to be seen. They all brandished their weapons. It looked as if there had already been a scuffle of some sort, although there was no blood to be seen.

It was a single scaly form that held them prisoner, blocking their escape through the room's carved door. Niira's heart caught in her throat. _Serpent Mother?_

But the creature was no serpent. Although long-bodied with the narrow, tapering head of a snake, she stood on two legs, her hands splayed out in an aggressive posture. The reptilian's long neck was arched threateningly, spikes fanned out in an impressive display. Magic seemed to ripple off the reptile, so strong that Niira could feel it even where she was.

_She's a Fireborn._

_Then why am I feeling healing magic? The Fireborn don't have healers._

Realization hit her like a brick to the head. It was the Seventh. A female. A healer who worked with the Fireborn. Not at all like what she had been expecting.

Without thinking of here own safety, Niira leapt from the edge. She hit the floor between the Seventh and her companions like a house cat, on all four feet. Then she jumped forward, whiskers pulled back in a snarl as she roared a challenge to the reptilian before her.

The Seventh was startled by Niira's sudden appearance, but the half-blood soon occupied her full attention. A smile crept across her scaly visage. _So, you have come. She said you would._ "Think you can buy your friends time to escape, cat? The rest of the Fireborn are one their way here. It's only a matter of time before you all die."

Niira snarled again, her tail twitching violently. "Don't you dare mind-speakto me, filth," she growled in the Northland language. She silently urged her father and friends to escape while they could. But of course they couldn't hear her.

There was one in the room who could, however. _Don't bother. They don't have a chance._

_You would let us all die? Why?_

_Because I can._

"Call them off," Niira said.

"Or what?" the reptilian taunted.

"I was sent here by Serpent Mother. Would you care to face her wrath?"

A low, hissing laugh was her answer. Then a cackle that bounced off the stone walls. "That Serpent Mother still trying to win me back, is she?"

"We need the dragoons to fight Phoenix."

There was a sudden change in the Seventh that seemed to darken the air around her. "And what did dragoons ever do but destroy my life? Where was Serpent Mother then, if she cares so much about us?"

Niira was utterly confused by that.

"I didn't think she was one to take in traitors. The Fireborn fight for Phoenix."

"You weren't always one."

The reptilian gave her a cold, hard glare.

They circled, claws bared.

_It was you who abandoned me, if you'll remember._ It was Serpent Mother's voice this time.

The Seventh snarled, her teeth glinting deadly white in the starfire's light. _Shut up._

_It was your choice to run after your people were destroyed. And where has that gotten you? A place in the ranks of the very one who helped in that destruction?_

"Go away!" The reptilian jumped into the air, swatting at some invisible nemesis.

_My offer to help you still stands. As does the condition for receiving that help._

"Blackmail," the Seventh muttered as she calmed down, her spikes lowering.

"What?" Niira was still as confused as ever. There was obviously some outstanding issues between Serpent Mother and the Seventh. She got the impression that she had been sent to Hellena only to serve as a sort of relay point so Serpent Mother could talk to the rogue dragoon herself.

The Seventh hissed. "Fine. But just because I'm doing this doesn't mean I'm going to make your life any easier."

_I wouldn't expect any less from you._

"Now then." The Seventh had dropped her threatening stance, but the bloodthirsty glint in her eyes still remained. "How about we get out of here before the rest of the Fireborn realize what's going on?"

_Even she's afraid of them,_ Niira thought.

_I am not._

_Damn it. I need to remember she can mind-speak._

_Yes, you do._

_Stop it!_

-----

Niira was glad to see that her companions had managed to slip out during her bizarre conversation with the Seventh. Finding them again would have been difficult, except for the reptilian's knowledge of the layout of Hellena. The managed to intercept Marach and Lavitz, dropping down in front of the two warriors from their higher path.

The men quickly held their weapons at ready, but lowered them when they realized who they were facing. "Don't do that," Marach growled.

"Sorry, it was the fastest way," Niira said.

Beside her, the Seventh scowled. The reptilian stood now in her human form, an eerie combination of white-tipped red hair and pale red eyes that made Niira shiver. "They'll be here soon," she said. "This way."

"Who is she?" Lavitz asked in a low whisper as they followed the red-eyes woman.

"The one who was attacking you. The Seventh. Her name is Shadow Hunter. Where's Meru?"

"She found Kitty after we escaped and rode off."

Niira growled in frustration.

They followed Shadow Hunter, although they couldn't exactly see where she was going. Niira was somehow under the impression that they were walking along a high ridge, but she couldn't tell for sure. Shadow Hunter walked with confidence, though, so Niira felt at least somewhat reassured that they weren't being led off the edge of some precipice. Still, she hoped she had made the right choice in following the Seventh, and that they weren't being led into a trap.

Niira stopped for a moment, looking down at the path. Sure enough, loose shards of rock fell away from her feet, dropping into the lava far below. Startled to find herself so close to the edge, she jumped away.

Something was making the back of her neck prickle; in her feline form, that translated to her mane ruffling up in an almost comical fashion. Turning to look behind, she saw a dark mass moving up the path to them with frightening speed. It rippled like black fire, almost invisible against the dark stone of the prison. Niira gasped and bolted. "Run!"

Even Shadow Hunter ran when she realized they were being pursued. Niira sprinted along the path, pulling ahead of everyone else. She felt guilty at leaving the rest of the group behind, but she was too terrified to stop. Onward she raced.

There was a flash of blue light from above, followed by a wave of magic that crashed into the walkway behind them. The Fireborn retreated in a yowling, hissing mass. Somewhere high above, Kitty circled them on his four wings, bearing the Blue Sea Dragoon on his back. Looking up at them, Niira felt her foot slip in some loose rubble, and then she was in free-fall.

_No...no..._ Desperately, she tried to call her dragoon armor, but the dragoon spirit refused to react to her fear. The Black Gold Dragon was a stubborn beast. He would not lend his power to her unless there was a fair exchange: life spirit drawn from a living creature for the magical powers he gave to Niira.

Someone had grabbed her arm. She was jerked to a painful stop, wincing as she felt something in her shoulder pop. She looked up to see who had rescued her. Her gaze was met by her father's. He hovered in the air, his dragoon wings sending out showers of sparks as thy worked to keep them both aloft.

"Get down, you fools!" Shadow Hunter, in pale blue dragoon armor, dove at Lavitz. They tumbled to one side, dragging Niira along. Just in time, for a bolt of fire magic shot through the air where they had been a moment before. Recovering quickly, the pale dragoon pointed upwards. "There's a hole in the outer wall that's big enough for you to get through. Go."

Lavitz wasted no time. He shot upwards, pulling Niira with him. The half-blood cursed silently to herself, thinking of what to say to her dragon for refusing her the use of her own wings.

The Fireborn below had seen them. Howling with rage, a group broke off from the main force and flew after them, although Niira couldn't tell what held them aloft. But that mattered little, as the Fireborn were shooting straight at her. "Father!"

Fireborn and knight collided with a loud thunk. Niira was once again falling. She watched the rapidly-shrinking form of her father as he tried to fight off the self-deformed magicians. It looked as if the Fireborn would overtake him, but then he sent out a burst of magic that knocked them loose. Then he was diving for Niira again.

Niira was in a conversation with her dragon. _Yinwulong, I swear, if you don't help me out here..._

In reply, there was an almighty crashed that caused all of Hellena to shake. Sunlight bright enough to be blinding burst in from the newly-created hole in the side of the prison. Then a huge dark form rose to block out the light.

The Fireborn shrieked in terror, pulling back to assess this new situation. Niira called the creature to her. The giant black dragon lowered his head to break her fall, his long neck easily crossing the gap between them. _Not even Fireborn are stupid enough to mess with a dragon unprepard._

But the Fireborn though quickly, and they rushed forward, as if hoping to overcome the dragon. The black beast lifted his head, coming eye-to-eye with Lavitz. "Get on!" Niira shouted to him. Shadow Hunter also took the cue, dashing forward to grab one of the dragon's head fins and swing onto his neck. Across the room, Kitty beat his wings furiously, also heading for the hole, as Meru urged him on.

_Where's Marach?_

The Fireborn were gaining on Meru, despite the damaging magic she sent their way. Then from out of nowhere came a wild shout. Marach went flying through the air towards them, spear held over his head in preparation for a heavy downward jab. He crashed into the front ranks of the Fireborn.

Niira watched as he suddenly disappeared into a sudden burst of fire and smoke-like robes.

"_NO! Marach!_"

The Fireborn had, for the moment, stopped their advance, gleeful at such captured prey.

Kitty shot through the gap in the wall into the open sky. The giant dragon Yinwulong didn't even wait for a command from his master. He withdrew his long, slender neck and began his flight northward.


	29. Internal Conflict

Yinwulong could have continued flying all the way to Bale. But Kitty could not. Gryffs were not built for long-distance flying without the help of air currents. The winds in Serdio tended to blow south most of the time, which would not help Kitty in his flight. So the group decided to take a rest in the plains. Since the Fireborn had strangely ceased chasing them quite some time ago, they felt safe enough to land. Niira was glad for the break. But it didn't last long.

Niira had no sooner jumped from her dragon's back to the grassy ground than she was confronted by a large scaly head that thrust itself in here face. She jumped back in fear, bumping into her dragon. A hissing, insect-like dragon, much smaller than Yinwulong, growled at her from mere feet away.

Suddenly, the dragon looked up, not at Yinwu, who was confused by this new development, but at Lavitz, who still sat on Yinwu's shoulder. As if by a silent command, the green dragon took a step back.

"I'm sorry..." Lavitz dropped to the ground. "I forgot he would be here. He doesn't like other dragons."

"He's your dragon?"

"Yes."

The green dragon hissed again and waved its multiple legs around, perturbed. Yinwulong replied with a low growl. That seemed to assuage the other dragon a bit, and he settled down into a more comfortable sitting position, as if preparing to guard something.

"I tried sending him away but he won't go unless yours does."

"What? Oh..." Niira turned to the black dragon. _Yinwu...please reeturn to your own place. This dragon is upset._

Yinwu's thoughts indicated that of course he knew the other dragon was upset, because it was a stupid dragon and didn't know a friend when it saw one. But Yinwulong heaved his massive bulk onto his gangly legs. With a disdainful snort, he turned and walked away from them slowly. His body became more hazy and translucent with every step, and then he disappeared entirely. Only then did the green dragon rise and take his leave of the group.

Lavitz sighed. "Gnapaillaer can be stubborn at times. He's led a very confused life, for a dragon."

"I'm sure." Suddenly, Niira burst into tears. "Why?"

The knight wrapped his arms around her. "Quiet. He died doing his job. I'm sure he wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

Niira whimpered softly. _He's gone...he's gone...it's my fault..._

-----

Shadow Hunter sat by herself in the pre-dawn stillness. Just when she thought she had here life under control, something always arrived to flip things upside-down again.

Her whole life had been started upside-down. She had been born into a well-off Wingly family, but not from any sanctioned marriage. No, her mother had been kidnapped from the reptilian settlement on the southern coast of the Northlands and sold into slavery under the Winglies.

_Humans. Northlanders. There was no distinction between them._

Her mother had been bought as a bed slave by a plantation owner.

Shadow Hunter could remember the horrors she had faced as a child, the hatred directed towards her by the other slaves due to her Wingly blood. The hatred from the other Winglies due to her slave blood.

That was why she had come back later and killed them all.

She smiled to herself.

She had found a place to live after that. A place where nobody knew of her past. She actually grew fond of that town.

And then the dragoon had arrived.

The town had never posed a threat to the humans, or the other races. The people in it were caring folk. But that hadn't meant anything. Their pleas for mercy had fallen on deaf ears.

When Shadow Hunter had stumbled across the Topaz Dragoon Spirit years later, she tried to run from it. She refused to be a part of the warriors who had destroyed her life. Eventually she relented. She had to.

But she decided to use that power to spite everyone who supported the dragoons.

Scowling, she cut off her disjointed reveries. The Fireborn may have stopped chasing them, but that didn't mean they weren't being tracked still. Shadow Hunter stalked back to the group. The knight was already awake and watched her with suspicion in his green eyes. She ignored in, instead going to Niira's side. She was still asleep. _Lazy as usual._ She dug her boot toe into the feline's side. "Get up."

"Leave me alone." The words were clear enough to indicate that she had actualyl been awake for quite a while.

Shadow Hunter snarled to herself. "We have to move. The longer we stay here, the easier it'll be for them to locate us."

"They'll find us wherever we go. There's no point in running."

The Seventh crinkled her nose in disgust. _Get over it already. The hyaena is dead._

"There's a cave, a bit to the north," Lavitz was saying. "It's faster to go through there than any way else. We'll come out just south of Bale."

"Then that's where we'll go." _Somebody has to take charge around here. What idiots. How did they even make it to Hellena?_ "Fireborn are not terribly fond of being within the earth."

"And yet they were in Hellena."

_What the hell kind of vendetta do you have against that place, knight?_ "That's a building, not a cave."

"Sure feels the same."

"No, it doesn't. The magic is nothing alike."

"Can we argue this later?" It was Meru, the Wingly. Shadow Hunter disliked Winglies almost as much as dragoons. And Meru was both. "If they're still looking for us, we shouldn't be out in the open."

"If you can get the mopey girl up, we can get moving already." Shadow Hunter had wanted to say something much worse, but even she knew to hold her tongue when a parent was around.

Though that had been as mild as Shadow Hunter had made that statement, Lavitz gave her a warning glare. "Niira, get up."

"Go on without me."

Even Lavitz had his limits of patience. The knight walked over to Niira, grabbed her arm, and pulled her to her feet.

"That's my sore arm!" Niira's voice was tight with pain.

"Then you should have gotten up yourself."

As they prepared to move out, Shadow Hunter slunk to Niira's side. _Don't let your own self-hate problems slow us down and cause us all to die._

Niira made a swipe at her, claws extended. Shadow Hunter easily sidestepped and went on her way.


	30. Ultimatum

Wow chapter 30 :O. I have no idea how long this thing will be when it's done. This point in the rough draft is about halfway through. Dun dun duuuunn!

Time for a twist, mwaha.

-----

They arrived in Bale a few days later. Leaving Kitty once again in the forest, they entered the welcoming city, exhausted and very much desiring soft beds and good food. But they weren't given a chance to catch their breaths, as they were soon accosted by Happy Tail, who insisted that King Albert wanted to see them right away. So off they went to Indels Schloss, where Niira was practically pounced by Reezy and Alakyl.

Albert frowned as he surveyed the weary travelers. "Where's Marach?"

"Dead," Lavitz said simply. "He died to give us a chance to get back to Bale."

"I see." The king was quiet for a moment. "Reezy thought he might have some information that would be of use to us."

"What kind of information?" Niira inquired.

Albert was reluctant to answer that question. "Did you find you dragoon?"

"We did." Niira was thankful that her father was taking on the duty of talking.

"I won't even ask where you picked up Meru."

"Hey now Al, that's no way to talk to your friends!" Meru waved her arms frantically.

"What would Marach have known that you need?" Niira repeated.

"I thought he might know about the Fireborn," Reezy said.

"What? Why do you need to know about them?"

"They...um...we think they took something of great importance to the king."

"What do you want to know?" The sound of Shadow Hunter's voice stopped all other noise.

"Where they are, for starters."

"We're in Hellena."

There was an almost tangible recoil as she said those words. "_We?_" hissed Reezy in his native language. "You're one of them?"

"Hellena?" Albert asked from his throne. Niira could hear the same fear in his voice that Lavitz had expressed in relation to the old prison.

"Yes. That's where I ran into this little group."

"Whoa, you ran into the Fireborn and survived?" Reezy gaped at Niira.

"No, we were more like running _from_ them, actually," she mumbled.

"What was this thing that was taken from you?" Shadow Hunter asked.

Again the king hesitated. Niira knew him to only do that when he was hiding something. "It's called the Moon Scintillation. A powerful neutral-magic item."

Shadow Hunter shook her head once. "Nothing like that had come to us when I left. That doesn't mean much though. They move around often. If one of the scouts has it, he could be waiting for us--the Fireborn, I mean--to move to the next location."

"Where would that be?" questioned the king.

"I don't know. Those things aren't decided until right before leaving. But they like to stay near fire. Hellena had an open volcano beneath it, that's why they chose that spot. You don't happen to have another volcano in Serdio, do you?"

Lavitz and Albert stared at her.

"Well?"

"We passed one while we were on Niira's dragon," Lavitz said. "Volcano Villude."

"That would be the most likely place the Fireborn will be going next, then. They won't stay in Hellena long since you know about it now. But you'd be a damn fool to try to march into their camp again."

"Your advice is accepted, dragoon," Albert said, "but I don't have a choice in the matter."

-----

Happy Tail perched himself on one of the outer gates of the city, soaking in the lay rays of the setting sun. Things had become stressful ever since Niira and her group had returned. Not only was the Seventh impossible to get along with, but Albert's mysterious illness had suddenly taken a turn for the worse. He was so weak that he often had to turn away his advisors, and sometimes even his own children.

So Reezy and Haschel had been the ones to explain the reason behind the king's illness to Lavitz, Niira, and Meru. And none of them had taken it well, the First Knight especially. He had become so distraught that he often neglected his duties to his knighthood in favor of being with his king and friend. The people of Bale had so far been kept in the darkness about their leader's condition, but it was unknown how long that would last. Alberet was deeply loved by the people of Serdio, and his absence would not go unnoticed for much longer.

Happy Tail could still remember the reaction of the populace when Albert had been taken to Hellena, and then seemingly disappeared for a few years to help the dragoons in the Second Dragon Campaign. It was not something he wanted to see again. The avian sighed and ruffled his feathers. One could only take so much excitement in a week.

Something stirred below his perch. He blinked a few times, looking down, trying to see what it was. Like humans, avians' eyes were better adjusted to seeing color than seeing in the dark, so it took him a moment to find what he was searching for. He gave a frightened squeak and almost fell from the gate. Standing below him was a musteliform, dressed in a uniform that identified him as one of Phoenix's messengers, complete with the carved stone staff clasped in one hand.

"About time you woke up," the creature said with a malicious grin. "I was wondering if I'd have to come up there and bite you."

_How...how did...where is Phoenix now that he can send messengers to Bale?_ Happy Tail made an effort to compose himself. "No need for biting. What business do you have in Bale?"

"I have come to bargain for the life of your king."

-----

His head spinning, Happy Tail made a mad dash around the city. After informing Albert of the messenger's presence, he had to fetch all the dragoons currently in Bale, along with the young knight who had been so involved with the state of affairs recently, and Reezy. Albert did not trust the situation at all, which was his reason for calling all of the warriors to his throne room. Reezy was Happy Tail's own decision to invite. Messengers from Phoenix would only speak to those of high importance, or at least if such people were present. Which in this case meant the most important people in Bale, King Albert and Reezy. Reezy's status as a warrior-bard made him very important indeed.

This meeting also meant that Albert had to leave his bedroom, where he had retired early in the day due to his pain and exhaustion, and he was not enthusiastic about having to be active again. Shadow Hunter had been surprisingly kind to the king, offering to use her dragoon spirit's power to ease the pain. He had eagerly accepted.

When everyone had been notified of the situation, Happy Tail returned to the gate to fetch the messenger, who had waited patiently for his return. Then he led the rat-person to Indels, using back roads to make sure nobody who was still awake would see the strange duo marching to the castle.

Nobody in the throne room was happy about the impending meeting. Reezy especially was nervous. He had never dealt directly with one of Phoenix's messengers before, and he worried that the exchange would not go well.

And then the messenger entered. He walked across the room with an arrogant stride, his stone staff tapping on the floor in tome with his steps. Reezy recognized the object immediately. The stone of the lower half was carved to be a long, leaf-shaped blade, while the other end was covered in swirling flame designs. It was as much of a status symbol as a lethal weapon.

Halfway across the throne room, the messenger stopped. He was taller than the rat-people Coen and Reezy had run into in Rogue, but he was still shorter than anyone in the room, Alakyl excluded. He pulled himself up as tall as he could, one hand resting on the staff, the other hooked in the large arm hole of his vest.

"What do you want?" Reezy growled.

The messenger sniffed reproachfully. "You cats are always so rude."

Reezy rumbled low in his throat.

"What is your business here?" Albert addressed the rat-person this time.

"Begging your pardon, human, but I am currently talking to the young priest here."

Lavitz and Coen both gripped their weapons, offended that anyone would dare address their king in such a manner.

"Then get on with it," Reezy said.

The messenger cleared his throat. "We, the servants of Phoenix, have...come into possession of a rather interesting object." He looked at Haschel and Kongol. "It is our impression that this object holds great importance to the human king."

"So you _do_ have it," Niira heard Coen say under his breath.

"Significant," the messenger continued, "to the point of it being a matter of life or death, am I correct?"

"You already know the answer to that," was Reezy's reply.

"Hmm. Phoenix has no wish to pull the humans into this pointless war."

"_My ass, he doesn't._" It was Niira's turn to make a remark on the situation.

"He offers you a bargain. A life for a life." The musteliform glanced at Alakyl briefly.

"I can already tell you our answer, but let's hear about this bargain just for kicks." Reezy was tense, as if about to pounce.

"Phoenix will surrender to you this so-called Moon Object, and therefore, the life of your king..." He raised his staff. "If you hand over the half-blood." The staff's pointed end was directed at Niira.

She froze.

Reezy roared, a sound that rang around the room. "_We do not play with lives as bargaining chips!_"

"Suit yourself." The staff was lowered again, clicking against the floor. "If you change your mind, Phoenix will be willing to go through with the trade. The half-blood must go alone. West from Bale to the mountains, then two days south. Our guides will take you from there. She comes _alone_, and we will send you the Moon Object. Attempt to take her back, or to get the Moon Object by force, and we will burn this city to the ground. The wrath of Phoenix is swift and merciless." He paused for emphasis. "If she has not arrived by the end of the week, we will destroy the Moon Object." He turned silently and walked out of the throne room, leaving behind a very shaken group of friends.

"I'll go," Niira said softly.

"What? are you crazy?" Reezy faced her angrily. "They'll kill you."

"I know. But what other choice do we have?"

"We'll find another way," Lavitz said as he joined them.

"There is no other way." She felt defeated.

"I'm not going to let you go again," said the knight through clenched teeth.

"Wuff!"

"I'm going."

"What'er you talkin' about?" Meru scrambled to them. "It won't do anybody any good."

"I don't like this situation at all," Reezy commented.

"I'm not just going to stand here and let him die." Niira glared at him.

"Neither are we. There has to be another way. There always is."

"_Reezy, you know as well as I do that there _is_ no other way. They'll burn Bale until there's nothing left._"

Her cousin only turned an ear back as a response. Instead, Niira was chided by everyone else--Haschel, her father, Alakyl, even Kongol. Eventually, the argument included only the Northlanders, who knew more about such dealings than the rest of the group. They eventually were speaking more in growls and hisses than actual words, angry over the whole situation.

"_Ruhe!_"

Niira blinked, momentarily forgetting where she was. She sheepishly let her gaze wander up to Albert. Though normally a laid-back man with a soft voice, he could certainly make himself heard when he felt like doing so. It never ceased to startle her.

"This is getting us nowhere," the king said in a low, forceful voice, wheezing slightly. "We still have time before they destroy the Moon Scintillation."

Niira lowered her head. She already knew what she was going to do.

-----

He knew exactly what Niira would do. His plan depended on it, and the reaction of those closest to her. If the Seventh decided to intervene, well, that would only call for a slight change of details.

It was all coming together so perfectly. He had only to wait until he held the key to Serpent Mother's destruction in his very hands.

_Yesss..._ He looked down at his hands. _And all I have to do is crush her between my claws. Then Serpent Mother will be exposed. She has already moved too far from safety to go back now. Not even her dragoons can protect her anymore._ He grinned slowly.


	31. Runaway

Durr, I think I forget to mention what 'ruhe' meant in the last chapter. It's just a German word for rest or quiet, used as a command. Yay. Thanks to the people in the multilingual LJ community for helping me with that! It's much better than the first thing I came up with -o.

-----

Something was scratching at his window. Irritably, Coen rolled over in bed and tried to ignore it.

"Wuff!"

_What...the hell...this early in the morning..._ In frustration, he threw his blankets aside and stalked to the window. _I swear, I am going to kill that dog._ He lifted the latch and nudged the window open.

Alakyl stuck her muzzle in. "Wuff!. Rr...rff!"

"What do you want? I thought you hated me."

The wolf lifted a foot and pried the window open further. She looked up at Coen, her pale eyes eerily reflecting the moonlight.

"What?" the knight asked more forcefully.

Alakyl whined softly.

Coen stared down at her, not understanding. _Gods above, why does this stuff keep happening to me?_

She whined again.

"What the hell is your problem, waking me up at this time of night?"

She growled, as if frustrated.

"My feelings exactly."

The wolf leapt back from the window, doing a small spin in the air. She gave a few whining barks, then looked back at Coen, her tail between her legs. Then she was still.

"...She didn't." _Forget Alakyl. I'll kill Niira first._

-----

Coen ran to the first person he thought of: Lavitz. He knew the knight would be asleep at this hour, but that mattered little. If Niira had only left late tonight, they might still be able to catch her before she got to the mountains. It would be difficult to find anyone among the cave-riddled peaks. _Stupid, stupid girl..._

He fairly skidded to a stop in front of the First Knight's house. He may have his neck wrung later for waking Lavitz, but it was a risk he was willing to take. He didn't want to be running towards the rat-people alone.

He pounded on the door. Waited a moment. Banged again.

The door clicked and swung open. Lavitz, still dressed in his nightclothes, glared at Coen. "You better have a good explanation for this."

"She's gone."

-----

Knight were trained to get themselves in full fighting form in a short amount of time. While Lavitz buckled on his armor, he and Coen discussed their plan of action. The First Knight made no secret that he didn't trust Coen's military decisions half the time, but for once they were in agreement with one another.

"It would take too long to get one of the knighthoods ready to go," Coen was saying. He seriously disliked the prospect of just him and Lavitz dealing with the rat-people again, even more now that the mysterious Fireborn seemed to be involved with the situation.

"They'd only slow us down anyway." The First Knight twisted around, strapping on his pauldrons. How he could don his armor by himself, Coen couldn't figure out. He couldn't do it, that was for sure. Maybe that was why he hated having to wear it. Something about having someone help him with his armor really disturbed Coen.

"Gods, we've got to be flipping mental to be doing this," he said, half to himself.

"Perhaps. How'd you find out she was gone, anyway?" There was a suspicious tone to Lavitz's voice.

_Damn it, stop thinking I'm out to take advantage of your daughter._ "Alakyl found me."

"Hmm." Lavitz closed his gauntlets around his wrists. "Where's she now?"

"I...I don't know." He had lost track of the wolf in his mad rush to get dressed and find Lavitz. "You don't think she's gone after Niira by herself, do you?"

"How should I know?" The knight now stood in full armor, ready for action. "Guess there's only one way to find out."

-----

The dark figure had seen the wolf come trotting out of the city. Without a word, she dropped down next to the canine. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The wolf yelped, then turned and snarled.

But the shadow had darted out of her vision. "You're playing right into Phoenix's claws, you know."

She could tell that the wolf did indeed know. "Hrrr..."

"It's not Niira he wants. And he couldn't care less about the life of the human king."

Alakyl barked once, aggressively. The shadow recognized it as a distorted Northlander word for 'sister.'

"You're of more use here in the city."

A loud growl from the wolf.

"Do you still not see it? You dumb brick of a dog."

Alakyl lunged forward, but once more the figure was beyond her reach.

"It's _you_ he wants. He _wants_ you to follow Niira. Think about it."

The wolf did.

"He wants you exactly where he can keep an eye on you. He wants you alive just long enough to draw Serpent Mother to him, and then he'll kill you both."

"Nrrf?"

"Don't worry about Niira. She won't be alone."

"Hrr?"

"Come back into the shadows and watch. You'll see soon enough."

The two of them sat in silence in the darkness, so close that Alakyl's flank was pressed against the shadowy figure's leg. It was not too long before too men with weapons left the city at a fair job. Alakyl stirred, ears forward. "Nrrf."

"Now do you see?" The shadow rose, her tail lashing in pleasure. "But they'll need help. They'll be hunted. Come. We have work to do. They trust you, they'll listen to you. But you'll need my voice to speak with them."

"Grrr."

"It's all right. Nobody trusts me. I'm used to it."


	32. Like Honorable Suicide

Coen had never moved so far so quickly in his entire life. They had kept up their rapid pace all night, only pausing to rest at noon the next day. There were no signs that Niira had passed through this area. She hadn't even left a trail in the forest they now made their way through.

"Damn it," Coen panted. "How'd she get so good at this?"

Lavitz didn't offer an opinion. He just kept moving through the forest, leading Coen through the trees. The younger knight stopped momentarily to catch his breath. He glared at Lavitz. One would never expect a man of Lavitz's build to be able to move like this. Or maybe Coen was just young and inexperienced and not used to such travels. He laughed a bit to himself before hurrying to catch up with the First Knight. That's what everyone said about him, that he was too young and lacking the experience to be leading a knighthood. _Lavitz was about my age when he became the First Knight though. But I suppose those were different circumstances._

He grimaced. _I suppose people have a right to hate me though. I knew exactly what my father was doing and I did nothing to stop him. Since he's as good as dead now, all those deaths are on my hands._

_And now, I've failed to get the Moon Scintillation, and Niira's run off like an insane person. Gods above, if I'm responsible for hers and Albert's death too, I'll be hunted down by the people and killed whether or not it's legal._

_No. I won't let that happen. We'll get Niira, and we'll find the Moon Scintillation too. Whatever it takes._

_I am not a murderer._

He found the strength to keep pace with Lavitz. He would set things right, even if he had to die for it.

-----

Thank goodness Kitty stayed near Bale. Niira had been able to ride him most of the way to the rendezvous point, which saved a lot of time on her trip. As they drew near to where Niira estimated the place to be, she turned the gryff back towards Bale. Kitty was confused at being told to leave without her, but being the well-trained animal that he was, he obeyed. Niira spent the rest of the day pacing the edge of the forest, trying to work up the courage to walk into the enemy's hand.

Early the next morning, she walked from the forest and didn't look back. Up ahead, nestled in the foot of the mountains at one of the passes, was an old fort, abandoned since the Serdian Civil War. The walls were half collapsed, and even from where she stood she could see the charred stains on the rocks from a fire that must have been the fort's destruction.

She was very surprised when she saw a signal flare shoot up from behind the walls. _They're in the fort...but why use it when it's so dilapidated?_ Swallowing nervously, she forced herself to continue forward. Her only knowledge was that Phoenix, while being a perverted dictator, was not one to break bargains. She would give herself to him, and the Moon Scintillation would be sent to Bale. And that would be the end of this.

She stopped when she noticed a small detachment of musteliforms crawl out from some hidden nooks in the fallen walls of the fort. They were trailed by the flitting figure of an avian. She hesitated. _They have avians fighting for them now?_ Her mind was busy thinking of the ramifications of this as the rat-people approached. Before, one of the few advantages the followers of Serpent Mother had possessed was the avians and their ability to attack from well beyond the reach of arrows and thrown stones. But now that was gone...

The welcome group reached her.

Being rat-people, none of them stood above her shoulder, but that didn't make them any less fearsome. The avian, who was much taller and sported ashy feathers, landed next to the mustelid in front. It was the same messenger who had come to Bale a few days before.

The creature grinned, not a pleasant gesture. "So eager you decided to come early?"

Niira didn't answer that. "What about your end of the exchange?"

The rat-person shook his head. "First. Your dragoon spirit. Hand it over."

The half-blood stared at him.

"You are our prisoner now. We're not about to risk allowing such power in the hands of a captive. Hand it over." He held out his paw to her.

She didn't like this arrangement one bit, but someone else's life was on the line. Shakily she fished the stone out from its hidden pocket, freeing the chain from her belt. The orb's smooth surface felt warm in her hand, comforting like a familiar presence. As she set the object in the rat-person's hand, she felt her dragon questioning her in the back of her mind. Then the feeling faded as the messenger handed it to the avian.

"Set it with the moon stone. And tell the magicians to prepare to destroy them both."

"What!" Niira blinked, confused.

He looked back at her coolly as the avian flew back to the fort.

"You...what about the exchange?" Niira growled in rage.

"The bargain is over!" he snapped.

"What are you talking about?"

The scouts inform me that you're being followed by some Serdian knights. They'll be here by sundown tomorrow at the latest."

"_What!_" Niira clenched her fists. "I knew nothing of this. _I_ kept the bargain."

"But they did not. That was part of the deal, wasn't it, that you would come alone?" Th rat-person snorted. "It was _your_ side that broke the pact. We now have the choice to break our part of it, and we shall." He nodded to the rest of his group. "Take her down to the prison. Phoenix will let us know what we should do with her."

-----

She had to have come this way. There was no other way that Kitty would be so far away from Bale. Coen didn't know the beast, but Lavitz assured him that the gryff would not have come this far south unless he had been with someone he knew. Since Reezy was, they assumed, still back in Bale, that meant Kitty had followed Niira.

They sat in the the forest, looking across a rock-strewn field to a decrepit fort in the mountains. They had seen some of the avian Northlanders flying to it, so they felt safe in assuming that's where Niira now was.

_That place hasn't been used since the beginning of the Serdian War,_ Coen thought. _Why use it now? Or maybe that's why she's been taken there, nobody would think to look there._

Getting into the place left a bit of a problem. The only way to get to the fort was by walking across the plains, where they would be easily spotted before they could even get halfway to the fort. Coen sighed and half-drew his sword, looking at the blade. Things did not look good.

Kitty touched his beak to Coen's hand. The young knight sheathed his weapon and ran his hand over the smooth curve of Kitty's beak. "We'll figure this out," he said softly.

Lavitz had been silently observing the fort ever since it had come into view. Coen could tell he was livid at the fact that a foreign army had infiltrated his country so well and had escaped detection this long. But at the same time, he could tell the First Knight was figuring out a way in. There was no visible activity besides the avians' flight. No guards they could see.

_Either they're very, very good at hiding, or it's just a front. There's something going on that's hidden further back in the mountains. There has to be._

"They have to be using the rear portions of the fort," Lavitz said, confirming Coen's suspicions. "They probably came down through Tiberoa--hence the trouble in Rogue--then used the pass here to get through to Serdio."

"That doesn't help us with our problem of getting into the place."

"Anything we do will be suicide. There's nowhere to hide once we leave the forest."

"I told you, this whole thing is like some twisted idea of honorable suicide," Coen mumbled. "So, what's your plan?"

Lavitz glanced at Kitty, who was sitting calmly nearby. "Might as well go out in style."


	33. Prisoner

The prisons of the fort were actually a network of caves in the mountains. Niira had been put in what had to be the point furthest from the entrance, judging by how cold and damp it was. It made her skin crawl. She did have one small view of the fort through a chink in the stone wall of her cell. It wasn't the best view in the world, but it helped break the monotony of the darkness, as well as gave her some means of telling time. She knew she had been in there one night already, and now the sun was close to setting again. She watching the goings-on below in the dimming red light.

There was an entire section of the fort that couldn't been seen from outside. It was pushed back into the mountain pass, well-hidden from the casual passer-by. Phoenix's army had even added their own touches to the place, rebuilding several of the collapsed structures, such as small storage houses, and a single tower built right out of the mountainside.

The army itself was made mostly of musteliforms, which didn't surprise her. Hundreds of them had passed below her during her stay; certainly hundreds more were in places she couldn't see. Occasionally, avians would flash past her 'window' on their way to the tower. Their roosts were at the top, giving them the best view of the camp.

These creatures still worried Niira the most. The advantage of aerial warfare had been lost for Serpent Mother now. With what she knew of Phoenix and his love of destruction, she could easily imagine the avians being made to drop fire-bombs and other such deadly items into a battlefield. Or worse, in civilian areas.

She had also seen a few groups of Fallen walk past. Those feliforms who had long ago 'fallen' from Serpent Mother, defecting to Phoenix's cause. They had been exiled by the other feliforms, pushed to the most inhospitable deserts of the Northlands. Years of such a harsh existence had given them lean, fast bodies, and the mindset to kill anything that threatened their livelihoods. While not as numerous as the rat-people, they were certainly just as dangerous.

Once, she thought she had seen a Fireborn float past, but it might have just been the shadows. Fireborn were rarely seen individually anyway. They derived most of their fearsomeness from being in groups.

Niira knew more of the fort's layout as well, from when she had been brought in. Enough to know that the main entrance of the fort faced south, which would make it difficult for any army coming from the north to assault. And seeing as the bulk of Serdio's armed forces resided in the north, she had little hope of a rescue from them. She knew where the various officers' quarters were, as well as where the Moon Scintillation and her Black Gold Dragoon spirit were being kept. In the tower that the avians roosted in. So anyone who was trying to get to them without the proper permissions would face death from above.

The sun had gone down far enough that her eyes were straining to make out shapes from the shadows. Sighing, Niira slumped against the wall. She wished they would kill her already. Obviously they had no use for her, so why keep her around?

A loud shout made her jump. Scurrying back to the viewhole, she craned her neck, trying to see what had happened. She caught a brief glimpse of a large creature flying over the broken eastern wall...and it wasn't an avian. It dove down to the ground, out of her view.

"Kitty?" she whispered to no one. _He wouldn't have come here alone. Somebody's with him. I told him to go back to Bale but someone found him first. The knights that the messenger mentioned?_ She felt her heart race from excitement.

More yelps and screeches, and the sound of something large crashing about. Whoever was riding him had the right idea--use the gryff as a mobile battering ram. Simply knock aside any who stand in your way, get to your destination before real trouble can arrive. The sound was coming closer to the prison caves. _They're coming...for me..._

She turned away from the window. If she got out, she would have no weapons to help fight with. She had left her spear back in Bale, probably the one time she had ever willingly parted with it. She could well enough with her fists, but that would do little good against a mob of angry, armed rat-people and Fallen and avians.

Soon the sounds of battle at the front of the prison echoed back to her. She pushed herself against the cell door to listen better. Steel on steel. Someone being thrown against the wall. Someone else running through the cave tunnels.

_Please god let it be help._ "Over here!" Niira shouted. Remembering the path she had taken to get to her cell, she added, "Right passageway!"

The person came closer. "Niira!"

"Coen? Coen!"

And then a miracle happened. A friendly face peered at her from the other side of the door. The knight's hair was mussed, and he panted heavily, but he managed a small smile at her.

"My hero," Niira said, surprising herself with her lack of snark.

"Not quite yet." He stepped away, and she could hear the metallic clink of keys. The lock to her cell turned, then snapped open. The door swung outward on its aged hinges.

Niira fairly threw herself at her friend, wrapping her arms around his neck. Never had she been so glad to see someone she knew. _And to think I may have never seen him again..._ Guilt about her actions the past few days washed over her. She shivered, clinging to Coen.

"Hey, it's okay." He stroked her shoulder with his free hand. "We need to get out of here before the whole damn army arrives."

"Not without my dragoon spirit."

"You know where it is?"

"In the tower...come on."

She led the way back down the hall. Near the entrance were the guards, or rat-people who had once been the guards. They were flung against the walls, limbs in awkward positions. Niira didn't want to take a closer look and see exactly why theye lay so still. Something about thinking of Coen, as rserved as he was, being a killer unnerved her. She did pause just long enough to grab one of their long-handled swords. Better this small weapon than none at all.

They stepped into the silvery evening light to find themselves confronted by dozens of enraged soldiers. Kitty and Lavitz were bravely holding their own against the enemy, keeping them far enough away that Niira and Coen had a chance to make a run for the tower.

It was a chance they wanted to take, and they made a mad dash for the stone building.

"Above!" was all that Niira could get out before the first avian made a dive for them. They threw themselves to the ground, and the bird missed, swinging back into the air for another strike. Niira quickly scrambled to her feet. As the second avian dove, she threw her sword at him. The weapon connected with the avian's shoulder. Shrieking, the creature fell from the air.

With that momentary distraction, the two friends made it to the tower, slamming the door shut behind them. Niira was able to find the dragoon spirit almost immediately. It called to her with a curious tone, as if wondering what had happened to her.

Coen was digging madly through the piles of various objects strewn about the room. He had an intense look on his face that scared Niira.

"What are you looking for?"

"Moon Scintillation," he muttered.

"Well, it should be here somewhere, they said it was being kept with my dragoon spirit." She started searching as well. "What's it look like?"

"I think Haschel mentioned a small red box at some point..." He stopped, then straightened. He held out his hand to Niira. On it rested what was most certainly a small red box, a bit worn from its travels. It radiated a strong magic that made Niira shiver. "King Albert sent me to bring it to him. And I will."

Suddenly, the very floor shook beneath them. Niira rushed back out into the courtyard, not wanting to be inside the tower should it fall. To her surprise, most of the army in the fort was rushing out the front gate. _What just happened?_

Coen was running for the one group that remained to harass Lavitz and Kitty. With one motion, he sliced his sword across the back of one rat-person and into the leg of another. Kitty could be seen tossing aside a Fallen with his spiked head.

Niira gripped her dragoon spirit tightly. _Come on Yinwu, help me out and stop being such an ass about it._ She closed her eyes, feeling a tingling in her shoulders. A wave of black magic swept over her, covering her in slick, dark armor, flinging itself outward from her shoulders to form shining wings. _That's more like it._ She lacked a weapon, as she had left the sword with the avian, but that didn't stop her from charging the enemy.

The soldiers flew from her path and she crashed into them. She managed to grab one mustelid and flipped herself upward, flying high above the fray. Then she dropped the unfortunate victim, right onto his comrades. Niira had no sooner let go of him than she pulled herself together to prepare a magical attack. Thrusting herhands forward, she sent bolt after bolt of dark energy at Phoenix's troops. The magic fell like black stars, striking down all they touched. The creature bolted in fear, some scattering to various hiding places, others deciding to join the rest of the army beyond the front gate. Satisfied with her work, Niira allowed herself to float down until her toes touched the ground.

Kitty forgot whoever he was attacking and gleefully bounded over to greet Niira. He affectionately bumped his head into her back, nearly bowling her over despite her dragoon armor. Lavitz's reaction was much more subdued, as he was holding his left arm in pain. Blood stained his tunic from where he had received a wound in his upper arm. He shook his head slowly as he looked at his daughter. "If only your mother was able to see you now..."

"What'd everyone make for the front gate for?" Coen joined them, also sporting a few cuts and bruises.

"Wait." Niira pushed off from the ground, rising until she could see over the wall. She blinked at the sight. "You'd never believe it," she called down to them, "but they're fighting the First and Second Knighthoods. And some dragoons."


	34. Symbiosis

Okay. Something very important happens in this chapter. But it also involves something which may be a bit squicky for more sensitive readers (heck, _I_ even got a little squicked out by it, but these are also my characters involved here and I don't like being mean to them). Okay, maybe not _squicky_, per se, but definitely wince-worthy. So don't say I didn't warn you.

-----

Coen was the first through the front gate. He flung himself headlong at the nearest rat-person. The beast, not expecting a rear attack, was dead before he could register what was happening. Coen didn't pause, continuing his advance toward the safety of the Serdian troops. He caught glimpses of the dragoons above taking on the task of fending off the avians. Phoenix's army was beginning to retreat due to the sheer shock of the sudden attack.

The Serdians were retreating as well. Which meant this was not meant to be an all-out battle, just a rescue mission sent after a rescue mission, with the intention of doing as much damage as possible. Coen had to wonder who had sent the knighthoods, as he and Lavitz had certainly not alerted the other soldiers to the situation. But even though the enemy had been scared for now, there was no telling how quickly they could regain control of themselves and turn on the knights again. They had to get safely out of reach before that could happen.

Dodging blows from someone's weapon, Coen lashed out with his sword in retaliation. He felt the blade connect with something, but he couldn't tell what it was in the madness that was the retreat of both armies. He slid himself to one side to avoid another blade, then rushed forward again. The knighthoods were just ahead...

Something hissed past his ear. Startled, he almost tripped over the arrow that had embedded itself in the ground at his feet. _Damn it, they've got archers._ Spotting some fairly large boulders ahead, he sprinted for them and dove behind them. He took a moment to catch his breath, then dashed out again.

He was met with a piercing pain in his right side. He gasped, twisting and falling onto his back. An arrow narrowly missed his unguarded arm. Wincing, he rolled onto his hands and knees and managed to pull himself back to thee relative safety of the rocks. _God damn...fucking hurts..._

When he had propped himself up against the stone, he took a few moments to assess his condition. An arrow stuck out of his side, its head buried deeply in his flesh. _Damn it. Damn it._ Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the shaft with one hand and slowly pulled it out. He had to nearly bite his tongue off to prevent himself from shouting several profanities during the process.

He tossed the arrow to one side, pressing his hand against the wound as blood began oozing out. _Damn it all to hell. There's no way I can make it back to the knighthoods._ Even if he could get up and walk, that would only make the wound worse and he could very well kill himself trying to catch up with his countrymen. _I'll die if I sit here and just wait for the rat-people to find me. How do I get myself into these situations?_

He fumbled with the Moon Scintillation's box, pulling it from the pocket he had hurriedly stuffed it in during their escape. _I finally get a hold of this thing and now I'm stuck here and it's going to fall back into the enemy's hand once they find me._

In all its travels, the red wood box had cracked slightly, just enough to keep it from closing properly. Coen was able to flip open the lid with one finger. The Moon Scintillation took up most of the room inside, gleaming like a dull pearl in its carved-out seat in the box. It seemed to glow from within with a faint, withered light. _Like a dying star. That's what it looks like._

_...but why wouldn't it be dying? Didn't King Albert say something about the original Moon Gem and its human host sharing energy? If this object is supposed to an equivalent replacement, wouldn't it need to share energy as well?_

He could hear people running around him. He was surprised to find that his vision was too blurry to see who or what they were. _Damn arrow..._ He looked at the Moon Object again. _It's like a dying star because it's dying. It's dying right in front of my eyes._

_I've failed Albert again._

It was then that he realized something. Albert had never mentioned anything about a specific human body being needed to host the Moon Gem, only that sometimes they weren't compatible or something like that, and that the body would be killed from the conflict. _I guess most of the royal family were able to handle it._

_But this thing will die if something isn't done. And then Albert will die._

_If I have to give my life to set things right..._

Coen pulled up his shirt to expose the arrow wound in his side. _There's a chance one of the knights will find me before the rat-people. This has to be enough to keep the Moon Scintillation alive long enough to make it back to Bale._

Before he had time to convince himself otherwise, he pressed the Moon Scintillation against his side. It burned against his skin. Biting his shirt, he pushed against the stone. He could feel it making its way into the wound, pulling apart his flesh where the cut was not big enough. A pain like icy fire shot through his body, and the Moon Object seemed to realize that it had a host; Coen was sure he felt it moving inwards a bit on its own. Closing his eyes against the pain and trying not to cry out, he kept up the pressure until the Moon Object was fully inside his body. Only then did he slump back against the rocks, weakened from the experience. He tugged his shirt down to hide the wound.

_Gods above, it's going to kill me...it hurts...so much..._

Someone was standing above him. He looked up, squinting against the light. He couldn't see who it was, only a dark silhouette.

"Coen! Can you get up?" He recognized the voice as belonging to Lavitz.

He tried to say that no, he didn't think he could, but he couldn't tell if he actually managed to say that out loud or if it was clear enough to be understood. _Damn...pain..._

There was a silence, or what would have been silence if not for the pounding in his head. "Coen, I know you had the Moon Object. Where is it?"

Again Coen looked up at the older knight. He strength was leaving him, although he couldn't tell whether it was the wound or the Moon Scintillation's influence.

"Oh Soa, don't tell me..." The First Knight was roughly tackled to the ground by one of the enemy. Coen couldn't tell if it was a large rat-person or one of the feliforms.

Coen felt a painful jerk as someone pulled him off the ground, and then nothingness.

-----

Using the caves as prisons was a good idea, actually. Tons of stone surrounding them, meaning escape would be difficult at best. It was almost as bad as Hellena. Lavitz closed his eyes. He hated prisons. He had spent far too much time in Hellena than his liking. And then to think that he had returned of his own free will, to save his king from possibly the same horrid experience he had while he was in there.

_And I only spent a few days in there. Guess they made a special point of making important people feel 'welcome.'_ He glanced down at Coen, who lay stretched out on the stone floor in front of him. _I almost died in a prison. No, actually, that's not the whole truth..._

He cut himself off with a sigh. There was no use in dwelling on the past. Even though their future looked very bleak indeed.

At least they were in the same cell. Lavitz had spent their first few hours inside the mountain tending Coen's wound. He couldn't believe Coen would have been so stupid as to try to host the Moon Scintillation himself. And he couldn't even think of a reason _why_ he would do that. _Sometimes, Coen, I really have to wonder about you. Did you father scare all your common sense out of you as well?_

The young knight had been delusion for quite a long while. Kept asking where he was, where was Niira, who the hell Lavitz was. Lavitz stopped answering him early on. Coen would only forget in a few seconds anyway.

And then the Third Knight had finally just passed out. The speed with which the Moon Scintillation had affect him worried Lavitz, but there was nothing more he could do for the young man now. If they ever got back to Bale, and if Coen was still alive by then, the doctors were going to have a very difficult task in removing the Moon Object from him. The Wingly Lloyd had used magic to simply rip the Moon Gem from Albert's body, but humans had to do things the old-fashioned way--cut someone up and hope they didn't bleed to death before you could sew them back together.

Lavitz actually chuckled then. That was how his wife had worded it, at any rate. She had always been quick to tout the virtues of the Northlanders' ways of healing people. Her race was far more adept at manipulating magic than most humans, and she never let him forget it.

His thoughts wandered to Yamin, her carefree attitude towards the world. Moon Chaser. That was what her name meant, and it reflected her tendency to not always be mindful of reality. But it was that hopeful optimism that had first drawn him to her.

_Was she like that even when I had to leave her due to my job?_

He shook his head. He knew this line of thinking well, and it only ever ended with him feeling horrible. Instead, he chose to meditate on his current situation. Even if he could figure out a way to break loose of the cell, he had no idea how to get out of the cave-riddled mountain. Not to mention getting back out of the fort again. And he couldn't just leave Coen here. He wouldn't do that to anyone. He cared about the younger knight greatly, ever since he and Niira had been friends as children. To just let him die in here alone would be something Lavitz could never forgive himself of.

But trying to drag the unconscious man out would make any escape pointless. They would only be captured as soon as they stepped out of their cell.

_Damn it Coen...I'm sure you had some twisted reason behind doing this, but it is _not_ helping me here. Sometimes I get the impression that you're trying to out-do me with the stupid impulse decisions. We don't need two leaders of knights like that. We really don't._


	35. The Grand Rescue

Shadow Hunter paced around the outside of the temporary camp. Her plan to assist the escape of Niira and the knights had worked wonderfully. She still couldn't really figure out why she had felt the need to do it, so she just attributed it to the fact that Serpent Mother still needed all of the dragoons right now. Niira's death would serve no purpose to Shadow Hunter. For now, at any rate.

The sudden appearance of the Serdian troops as well as the three dragoons--Haschel, Kongol, and Meru--had certainly startled Phoenix's army enough that the humans were safe in their forest camp for the moment. It was hard to judge from here when the enemy would decide to regroup and come after them.

Shadow Hunter had stayed in the forest during the fighting. There was no need to announce just yet that she was here. She was a Fireborn still, and her influence amongst the followers of Phoenix might still be needed if something went wrong. They couldn't know just yet that she had left, turned traitor on them.

Or they could. Shadow Hunter narrowed her eyes. She would have to remember to ask Niira later, if she had seen any Fireborn in the fort. If so, then any chance that the enemy soldiers didn't know about her was destroyed.

At least the Serdians didn't need her help. Once she and Alakyl had explained Niira's runaway act to the ailing King Albert, and that Lavitz and Coen had gone after her, the king had been more than willing to send help. Alakyl had stayed behind at Shadow Hunter's urging. _She above all must not be lost._ The knights now were tending what wounds they had received in the mad rush of the battle that evening. As of yet, no musteliform scouts had been sent after them, and none of the avians flew overhead. Still, sitting so close to the enemy was unnerving to many of the men, and sleep was hard to come by.

Shadow Hunter knew the feeling. Something wasn't right. They should have been attacked again by now. Something besides fear of the dragoons was keeping Phoenix's army within the fort. _Something important enough that they can just let us go._

She cut across the middle of the camp, not intending to walk anywhere in particular. The humans were quick to move out of her path. Ignoring them, she instead went to one of the groups that was huddled around a campfire. Niira sat in the firelight, next to her cousin. Reezy had insisted on coming along. Shadow Hunter couldn't figure out why he would want to, but such things didn't bother her. Across from them sat the lieutenant of the First Knighthood. Shadow Hunter couldn't remember his name, only his rank, and that was what mattered to her.

"What are you scowling at, Fireborn?" Reezy asked as she approached.

_Maybe he came to 'protect' the others from me. The priests _are_ one of the few who can even resist the strength of Fireborn magic. But I have no reason to harm those I asked for help. Meh. What idiots._ Shadow Hunter wrinkled her human face into something resembling a sneer. "We aren't being followed. It's been far too long, they should have come after us again by now. Something's wrong."

The lieutenant knight spoke up. "I'll tell you what's wrong. Where's Lavitz and Coen?"

They all stared at him. Shadow Hunter sighed heavily in the silence. _Don't tell me..._

"They didn't make it?" Niira's voice was distant.

"Didn't make it back here," the knight corrected. "Coen was wounded and Sir Lavitz went back for him."

_They should have made it back then. Unless they were captured._

"We've got to go look for them," Niira made to stand, ready to go right then and there.

Shadow Hunter hissed. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To get them back."

"I don't think so."

"Why not?" Reezy interjected.

"Because they were probably captured and are in the prisons now. There's no way you'd make it back in there a second time." _Why are they being kept prisoner though? Neither of them are of any significance to outsiders like Phoenix. Unless Coen managed to find that Moon Object like the king told him to. And he did something with it that means it's out of Phoenix's reach, so for now he has to be kept alive..._ She pondered this, wondering why the fire lord was so intent on holding onto the Moon Object. _Well, it's certainly an easy way to kill the king. Although you have his armies coming after you. Which of course wouldn't matter when you have enough troops to sustain such losses without it mattering._ She frowned. If that was the case, Phoenix's army had greatly increased in size since she last checked. Such things usually did not matter to the Fireborn, who typically had the same number of members throughout time.

"You have a better idea?" Reezy asked her.

"I'll go."

Reezy growled. "What makes you think _you_ can get in?"

"I..._was_ a Fireborn, remember." She grinned darkly at him for effect. _Looks like I'm going to have to put myself to work after all. The life of the human king is still necessary at this point._ "They have to let me in. It's getting back out that may be a bit of an issue."

"They _have to_, huh?"

"That's right." She had a plan. She always had a plan. Turning from the group, she look up at the treetops. The first gray light of morning was already visible through the leaves. _All night gone without any trouble. This Moon Scintillation must be very important indeed to Phoenix._ "If I'm not back by tomorrow evening, I doubt I'll ever get back. Run your men the hell back to Bale. And then get ready to fight against the might of Phoenix." _If my plan is discovered, his retribution will be swift. And the humans will be the first to go._

-----

She was by the old front gate of the fort by the time the sun had risen. She stood waiting for the soldiers to realize she was there; she had come so quickly, in the shadows and smoke the way the Fireborn did, that the soldiers within hadn't had a chance to see her approach.

Eventually, she heard shouts from the other side of the wall, from the avians who watched the surroundings from their high tower. Soon came the patter of mustelid feet over the stony ground, and then she could see them making their way over the rocks to her. The leader of thee hastily-gathered group was dressed in the garb of a messenger, although he was not the same one who had visited the castle in Bale.

He glared up at her as he approached. "What business does a traitor have here?"

_Traitor? So they _do_ have a Fireborn here. There's no other way they could have known that I left._ The Fireborn shared the same telepathic skills that Shadow Hunter used. The one in the fort must have been informed by those who had been in Hellena with her. _Damn it. Oh well._ "I have...information. About the humans. They've been in contact with Serpent Mother." It wasn't exactly true. In fact, she had just made that up off the top of her head. But she needed to get inside the fort.

"Really?" The rat-person laughed once. "So the traitor's turned traitor, has she? How can we trust you?"

"How can the Fireborn be traitors to anyone when they only serve themselves?" She tried to make it sound as smooth as possible. "So maybe Phoenix has their support, but not their exclusive loyalty. We serve ourselves. Each individual serves him or herself. I do what I want. The information I have is true. I'm not in the habit of lying to myself." She hoped all that babbling would either confuse or scare the messenger enough to allow her in.

He grunted. Then the rat-people turned away from her, stepping far enough away that they could converse without her overhearing. Within a few minutes, they returned. "We'll allow you in. I'm sure our commanders would find this information useful. They have business to attend to this morning..." Shadow Hunter assumed he meant they had to figure out what to do about the Serdian knights sitting on their doorstep. "They can see you at sundown."

Shadow Hunter smiled to herself and stepped forward.

"But you will be accompanied by two guards at all times."

She hissed. "What?"

The mustelid narrowed one black eye at her. "You _did_ turn on your fellow Fireborn in Hellena. You may trust yourself, but we don't. Plus, you're a dragoon, correct? Don't bother answering that, our magicians know this is true. Dragoons are, in the end, loyal to Serpent Mother, and we see no reason why your case is any different. Now, you can either cooperate and just allow us to have guards follow you, or you can give up your dragoon spirit. It's your choice."

"Fine. I'll go." Nobody touched her dragoon spirit and lived.

-----

Killing time until the officers could see her was driving Shadow Hunter crazy. Her first task was to find where Lavitz and Coen were being kept. Trying not to make her target too obvious, Shadow Hunter made a show of inspecting the camp, figuring out where certain things were kept, where the barracks were in relation to the avians' tower. While she intended it to look like she was just acquainting herself with the layout of the camp, she was actually searching for the fastest way out of the fort. Which seemed to be directly over the northeast corner of the fort. From the prisons, that meant crossing in front of the avians' tower, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. Lavitz was a dragoon, as was she, and they could fly through very quickly. Coen would have to be carried over, but that wouldn't slow them too much.

The prisons were the last place she visited. Her Fallen guards had been reluctant to let her in there, but she won her way in the end, threatening them with some painful Fireborn magic. Only when she was within the caves did she feel safe enough to start searching around with her telepathy. Wherever the other resident Fireborn was, it would not be in the mountain. Even Shadow Hunter found the surrounding rocks oppressive and constricting to her magic.

She searched every cell with her mind, while trying not to let on to her actions to the guards. The rooms were empty...except one. Two lives flickered within. One seemed to be fading rapidly and yet, it was melded with a strong magic Shadow Hunter didn't recognize. _Hmm...the Moon Scintillation, perhaps?_

Ignoring her fascination with this new magic, she spoke into the mind of the other. _Sir Lavitz, I presume?_

The knight's reaction was one of pure shock.

_Don't speak. I am being tailed by some guards. Just think, I'll hear you._

It took a moment for the man to figure out exactly how that worked. _...Shadow Hunter?_

_Correct. I'm still not sure why I came back for you two. Are you all right?_

Another hesitation. _I'm fine._

Shadow Hunter turned down another hall. She wanted to lose the Fallen guards somehow, in any method, but that would bring her more trouble than it was worth. _What's wrong with the other? Why is the magic of the Moon Object almost all I'm feeling?_

_Coen...was wounded. He tried to host the Moon Scintillation himself._

She tried not to make any visible sign of her disgust. _What an idiot. What good will that do anyone?_ she thought to herself. Then, mind-speaking to Lavitz again, _Listen, I can't stay in the camp for long before they find out I lied my way in. I will try to find a way to get you and the boy out of here in a few hours. Be alert._ With that said, she hurried out of the prisons, back into the open air.

-----

She spent several hours shuffling through the various supply stores in the back of the fort, just to give herself something to do while she thought about how to free the knights. She was coming up with nothing. _At least I still have a few hours. I have to get out of here before that meeting with the officers though. Otherwise there's no chance at all._

That was when she heard the shouts from across the fort. Shouts of joy. Jeering. The gleeful, screeching cries of the avians. The deeper yowlings of the Fallen. And the nearly overpowering sounds of the musteliforms' eerie barking. Curious, Shadow Hunter moved towards the noise, soon encountering a rapidly-growing crowd near the center of the fort.

Seeing a chance to escape her guards, she dove into the mass of soldiers, weaving her way between them. When she was satisfied that she had lost the two Fallen, she shifted into her reptilian form and dashed out of the mob, running up the side of the mountain. Finding a suitable hiding spot, she slid behind it, then looked back down on the scene below, only her head showing above the rocks. Anyone who was looking for her would be hard-pressed to spot her black scales against the dark stone.

The crowd was gathering around a platform in front of the officers' quarters. Shadow Hunter had examined it earlier in the day. It was an execution stage. She narrowed her eyes. Who were they so excited to see die?

The answer was soon made clear. A large, black-striped Fallen made his made to the platform, stepping up onto it with ease. Behind him, two more Fallen pushed and kicked something toward him. It was Lavitz. He stumbled up onto the stage, devoid of his armor and tunic, hands tied behind him, and bearing more than a few feline claw-marks across his back and face.

The striped Fallen lifted his whiskers in a snarl. "You thought you could get away with rescuing your precious dragoon, did you?" Shadow Hunter could hear him even where she was. The feliform lifted a heavy foot-paw and kicked the knight in the knees. The man fell down immediately, his face momentarily twisted in pain. The Fallen put his foot on Lavitz's shoulders, putting his weight on it to force the human to stay on the ground.

Shadow Hunter growled to herself. They were going to kill the knight and make a show of it in order to work themselves into a blood rage, to give them the murderous energy to go out and kill the nearby knighthoods, and then probably continue on to Bale. She had seen it happen before. The armies would kill anyone and everyone in their path once in a blood rage.

But this also meant she only had a matter of seconds to figure out how to rescue the knights before they could be killed for this display.

The head Fallen lifted his halberd into the air; the soldiers howled and shrieked with glee. Lavitz sat in silence, his face set in a determined look. Even still, Shadow Hunter could see him shaking. She knew, even if he didn't, that once they were done with him, they would go after Coen. Who still housed the Moon Scintillation within his body.

The army below was growing into a frenzy. _They want blood? They'll get it._

In a burst of dragoon magic, Shadow Hunter flew from her hiding spot, diving at the soldiers. She skimmed over the mob, heading straight for the striped Fallen. Before he knew she was coming, she had tackled him to the ground. She whipped one arm forward, slicing his throat open with the blades that extended from her gauntlets. Not even pausing to survey her work, she spun around and sliced through the ropes that bound Lavitz's wrists.

He was far more unsettled by this whole thing than she had realized. It took him a moment to get to his feet, and he was panting, as if terrified.

"Come on!" she shouted at him over the din of the surrounding army. "What's your problem?"

But he only shook his head, bringing himself back. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd show up."

"No time for that," she said. "Get out of here."

"How?" he snapped.

"You're a dragoon, you can fly out."

"Not if I don't have enough energy!"

She snarled. "Then figure something out before the army realizes what's going on!" Then she was in the air again, speeding for the prison. _Humans are far more trouble than they're worth._

There wasn't enough room for her in her dragoon armor to navigate the tunnels of the prison. There wasn't enough time for her to do so anyway. She stopped well away from the mountain, gathering magic to herself, collecting it in a shadowed, yet glowing sphere that hovered before the gem set in her breastplate, that grew in size until it engulfed her. Then it seemed to explode in a blinding flash of light. From any outside view, it would appear as if Shadow Hunter had detonated herself in some strange idea of suicide.

But the force of the blow was directed at the mountain. The ground shook from the impact, entire boulders vibrating out of their spots. After the minor landslide had ended, Shadow Hunter flew into the remains of the prison. She had to move aside several rocks in order to reach the cell Coen was in. The young knight was still there, laying on the floor, unconscious. The Moon Object's magic thrummed through the air around him, buzzing in the dragoon's ears. She ignored it, scooping up the man in her arms. Taking a moment to make sure she had a secure hold on him, she once more took to the air.

Arrows whistled past her. Sneering at them, she continued on her way as the weapons simply bounced off her armor and wings. _What kind of fools are they to think they can stop me with arro--_

She was suddenly assaulted with a barrage of magic. Unable to dodge it on such short notice, she simply dropped to the ground, hiding herself behind one of the makeshift houses. _Damn magicians, how could I forget about them?_

She had no idea where Lavitz was, but she figured he could take care of himself. But with him lacking armor and a weapon, and her own dragoon magic slowly draining away, escape was looking less and less likely. _The knighthoods are too far away to hear or see the battle here. I doubt the dragoons would have been able to sense my magic either. _Shadow Hunter concluded that help from the resting army would not be coming any time soon. In fact, they would if anything be going back to Bale in a few hours, as she had instructed them to do.

They were trapped.

She was utterly shocked when she saw three dragoons in the air above her, diving for the enemy. But they weren't Haschel, Meru, and Kongol. In fact, she didn't recognize them at all, in their green, dull aqua, and yellow armor. She couldn't make out their features as they moved and returned the magicians' magical attack. _Who the hell...?_

But she wasn't about to complain. Risking exposure, she made a dash for the next nearest house, hoping to make her way to the outer wall and conserve as much as her dragoon energy as possible. She ducked behind the building, then looked back out to the battle. The magicians must have retreated, for she didn't see them or their magic anywhere.

Her vision was suddenly blocked by something quite large that landed in front of her in a shower of bluish sparks.

The two dragoons stared at one another, neither recognizing the other. _He's a wind dragoon, I can feel it. But...Lavitz wears green armor, not dark blue..._

Realization dawned on her. Of course this wasn't one of the dragoons of Endiness. It was a Northlander that stood before her. He was one of the Three, the trio of dragoons who had been asleep ever since the Northlanders came to this world.

Shadow Hunter smiled darkly. She didn't know how the Three had known to come here, but she did know that Phoenix would not be happy about it at all, and he would be far more cautious with his dealings with the followers of Serpent Mother from now on.

The blue dragoon was taller than just about anyone Shadow Hunter had ever met, besides the Giganto dragoon Kongol. The black fur on his thickly-muscled arms glistened in the sun. He reminded her of the unicorns that had come down from the Moon That Never Sets when it had fallen to Endiness.

The unicorn-man was eying her curiously. "Topaz Dragoon, I believe?" His voice was low and commanding.

"And? Which of the Three are you?"

"Three? Oh..." He scratched at his ear. "I am Guilao. Storm Dragoon."

"Really. Well, nice meeting you, but we have to get out of here." She indicated the unconscious knight in her arms. Almost as if on cue, her muscles began to burn from the strain of holding the man for so long.

Guilao seemed to sense this somehow. "Need help?"

Shadow Hunter merely walked to him, feeling relief flood her arms as the other dragoon took Coen from her. "Now come on." She spread her wings.

"Where are we going?"

"To find Lavitz first."

"That human who was fighting off the musteliforms?" Guilao easily kept pace beside her.

"Yeah, him."

"Heja found him I believe."

_Who the hell is Heja? Whatever._ "Then, north to the knighthoods waiting in the forest."

"All right." Guilao gave a sharp whistle, a command of some sort.

As if from out of nowhere, his two companions flew up to them. The yellow dragoon--Heja, Shadow Hunter assumed--had her bird-like feet wrapped unceremoniously around Lavitz's upper arms. The First Knight was disgruntled by this, but he allowed himself to be carried in that fashion. The last dragoon, clad in green armor and flying in the rear, struck Shadow Hunter as somehow odd, but she didn't dwell on it. She led the dragoons over the wall of the fort and out across the rock-strewn prairie.

Only once they were over the forest did they dare descend. As their feet touched the ground, their dragoon armor dissolved into nothingness. Shadow Hunter stared for a while at the strange green dragoon. Something had changed about him after the dragoon energy had left him. _Damn it. This is going to drive me crazy. It'll have to wait for later though._

They trotted through the trees, following Shadow Hunter. Lavitz managed to catch up to her. He was still lacking his shirt and armor, and he apparently hadn't found his favored spear again, but nobody was willing to go back into the hands of the enemy simply to fetch supplies. "Who are these...people?" he asked her.

"They are the Three."

"Niira said something about them... Why are they here now?"

"I don't know. But it's not a bad thing." Shadow Hunter sped up. Behind her she could hear the dull hoofbeats of Guilao, and the lighter step of his companions. Ahead, the smells of steel and old blood from the Serdian camp.

-----

Phoenix's personal messenger cringed, jumping to one side as the immortal Northlander ranged about his chambers, spewing fire from his feathers. "She _what_!"

"Who did what, my lord?" the mustelid whimpered.

"She dared to waken the Three?" Clawed feet stamped against the stone floor in agitation.

"She woke the Three?"

A bolt of fire towards the unfortunate messenger caused him to dive behind a large chair for safety. "That's what I said! You idiot!" Heat was making the air waver like water. "You know what this means, don't you?"

"N-no, my lord."

"_She_ is coming. Herself!"

"But, my lord...surely even she cannot stand against you any longer. You have the Fireborn. And you yourself..."

"Don't try to patronize me!" Phoenix shrieked.

The messenger curled up into a quivering ball behind the chair.

"She may not be able to stand against me any longer, but that doesn't mean she can't still cause _problems_. Problems, my measly underling, that could destroy a good deal of the progress I've made since our last meeting." He hissed, then sighed, the physical energy fueled by his anger exhausted for the time being. He flopped down into his stone throne to fume and plot in silence.

_So close...but I must deal with her dragoons with caution now that they have all been found once more. So close._

-----

That was very exhausting to write. I hope it wasn't too confusing, what with the addition of yet more OCs and all.

Okay, I'm off to get like, coffee (I wish).

Speaking of heading off somewhere, in a few days I'll be leaving for a two-week-long trips overseas. So there won't be any updates, as I won't be bringing my computer. I'll probably do a lot of art though, most likely stuff from Legend of Dragoon and my fanfic (because I'm trying to work on some art challenge stuff), so check back with my deviantArt account (http/teh-dino. in about two and a half weeks and hopefully there'll be a big bunch of stuff.


	36. Camp

I'm baaaaaaaack!

You know, one thing I discovered during my time in Scotland and Ireland...castles there are far smaller than the general public has been led to believe. Seriously! I don't know about castles on the continent of Europe, maybe they're bigger. But anyway, like, the size of the rooms in Indels in the game? That's really about the size of things in the castles I visited. Weird, huh:) So there's your random bit of information for today!

I did some doodly-sketches of some of the characters from Daughter of the Wind, which are posted in in LiveJournal and can be found in the entry here: http/dinogrrl. and a music video I made can be found here: http/ So, have a look if you'd like. :)

Quick recap in case things have been forgotten during my absence (it's okay, I actually forgot where I was in the story too XD): Alakyl's hanging out with Albert back in Bale; Haschel, Kongol, and Meru just assisted the First and Second Knighthoods with a rescue mission sent to rescue another rescue mission; Niira and Reezy are chilling out in the knights' camp for the time being; Shadow Hunter, Guilao, Heja, and a fourth dragoon managed to pull Lavitz and Coen out of the enemy fort; Lavitz is a little worse for the wear, having almost been publicly executed, but Coen...poor Coen, in a pain-delusional state he decided to host the Moon Scintillation himself in order to save it, and now he's like, dying, and if he dies, then the Moon Scintillation dies. Way to go, Coen.

-----

Niira was, to say the least, morose. Not even Kitty's incessant squeaking and chewing on her sleeve could pull her out of her depressed state.

_Shadow Hunter hasn't come back yet. It's almost time to leave. She couldn't get them. Phoenix has even less reason to keep them alive than he did with me. Shadow Hunter's plan failed and they've all been killed. It's all my fault. If I hadn't come down here..._

Reezy was sitting next to her, playing with some twigs, digging patterns into the dirt with them. He hadn't said anything to her since Shadow Hunter's departure. In fact, he had only spoken to tell Meru that now was most definitely not the time to be bothering Niira.

Niira had hardly noticed his presence as she worried the time away. _Even if they weren't killed...Kynan said Coen had been wounded, that's why my father went back for him. If it was bad enough to keep Coen from getting here on his own...he needs real medical help for it...he could be dying in the fort. Maybe...he's already..._ She whimpered softly.

She saw her cousin raise his head to look at her, but again he said nothing. Then he returned to digging with the twigs.

Suddenly, she heard the soft sounds of a group of people running through the forest. Confused, she lifted her gaze to search for the source of the noise. Just in time to see the nearby knights jumping aside to make room for Shadow Hunter as she jogged across the camp and disappeared through the trees again.

Niira stood quickly. The reptilian had been heading for the makeshift medical tent.

Not far behind Shadow Hunter was someone Niira didn't recognize, a tall, black-furred being who immediately reminded her of the stories she had heard of these 'unicorns'. He rushed past her, his arms full with some load she couldn't get a good look at, and followed Shadow Hunter through the trees.

"Ah, they made it!" Reezy stood beside her, brushing the dirt from his hands. "Now we can go!"

Niira wasn't listening to him. Instead, she too followed Shadow Hunter. _Someone must have been hurt badly if Shadow Hunter couldn't heal him with her dragoon magic back at the fort._ Her brief joy at the group's return was soon clouded with fear once more.

The unicorn-thing had his back turned to Niira as he gently set down his burden onto one of the few cots that had been brought to the camp. Nearly panicking, Niira made a dash for the cot, nearly running into the unicorn-thing.

The stranger grunted, startled. "Sorry."

Ignoring him, Niira stared down on the deathly-still form of Coen.

Shadow Hunter had pulled the young knight's tunic up to expose a nasty-looking wound in his side. Something about the sight of it chilled Niira. "Out of my way," Shadow Hunter snarled as she maneuvered into a better position to examine the wound. Not even waiting for Niira to move, she pushed past the half-blood, nearly knocking her over.

Niira made a soft mewling sound of distress. _He's not moving. He's not moving..._

"Your friend is an idiot," Shadow Hunter said. "But he probably just saved the life of your king."

"What?" Niira managed in a strangled voice.

"Leave me alone. I need to stabilize him so that he'll make it back to Bale. Alive, I mean." The reptilian's tail whipped back into Niira's legs, clearly indicating that she should leave the healer to her work.

"No...Coen..."

A heavy hand was placed on her shoulder, pulling her away from the scene. "Come." It was the unicorn-thing. "There's nothing you can do to help him right now."

"Coen..."

He put his arm around her shoulders, turning her away and walking her back into the camp. "He's in the hands of the Topaz Dragoon. He'll be fine."

Niira wasn't so convinced about that.

Reezy took over the task of comforting Niira as soon as he found her again. "Hey, don't look so sad."

She realized then that her sight was blurred. Quickly rubbing at her eyes, she was surprised to find her hands coming away wet.

"Like the big guy said, there's a healer-dragoon watching over him."

She couldn't get the thought of her friend lying there on the ground with that horrible wound in his side out of her mind.

"Let's go find your father, shall we?"

In her panic, Niira had nearly forgotten that her father had been one of the people Shadow Hunter was trying to rescue. "...Okay."

They ended up walking back to the medical tents. Reezy led her in a wide arc around the space Shadow Hunter had claimed for herself and Coen; Niira tried not to think about it, but she still trembled. "Your father got dragged back here by someone or another. He looked a bit roughed-up at any rate." Reezy sounded more like he was talking to himself than to Niira.

"Stop talking," she said to him.

"Sorry."

Lavitz was indeed back in the medical tents, completely devoid of his armor--Niira assumed this had been stripped while he was in the fort prison--and his tunic, which exposed several painful-looking claw marks across his shoulders, back, and face. The First Knight was alternately talking to his lieutenant Kynan and trying to avoid any contact with the knighthoods' doctor, who himself was trying to get Lavitz to hold still long enough to attend to the cuts. Lavitz, while being perhaps the most talented warrior in all of Serdio, was also notorious for his refusal to let anyone touch him in order to have wounds cleaned. Even Niira's mother had not been immune to his aversion to healers.

_If I wasn't in such a horrible mood, I'd be laughing right about now,_ Niira thought to herself as she watched her father dodge the doctor once more. _Maybe I will laugh anyway. Later._

"And here I was thinking _my_ dad was bad about things like this," Reezy muttered.

Lavitz noticed them then, pausing too look at them just long enough for the doctor to grab a hold of him. Lavitz winced, his body tensing immediately.

"Would you just sit down already?" the poor man cried, exasperated.

"I will when you doctors find a way to do things that _doesn't_ hurt!"

"For Soa's sake..." Kynan massaged the corners of his eyes. "And to think I willingly came here to help rescue him."

Mumbling something to himself, Lavitz finally sat on one of the nearby logs and allowed the doctor to do his work, although his dislike of the situation was quite plain. Then, speaking to Niira, "Where's Coen?"

Niira looked away. The last thing she wanted to be talking about right now was her friend.

"He's with Shadow Hunter," Reezy answered for her.

Kynan gave a short laugh. "Ah, yeah, she's a crazy bitch all right, but if Albert trusted her..."

"What happened?" Niira said, despite herself.

Lavitz drew in his breath sharply, flinching at something the doctor did. "He put the Moon Scintillation in himself."

"_What?_" Niira gaped. _Why! Oh god, Coen..._ She began shaking again. _He's going to die._

"I just hope the doctors in Bale will be able to get it out again for Albert..." Lavitz trailed off.

For a moment, Niira's terror turned to anger. How _dare_ her father worry about someone other than Coen. Then she realized her irrationality and lapsed back into numbness. The entire group sat in silence, Lavitz still wincing with every movement the doctor made. Niira watched him in quiet contemplation. He had gained a few more battle scars across his body than she recalled from her childhood, one jagged scar that crossed his ribs on his left side standing out in particular. _It had to hurt...so many times he could have died. And yet he's still here. Coen may not have that chance._ She sighed.

"It'll work out," Kynan commented softly.

Lavitz only grunted affirmation as the doctor began wrapping his torso in a clean bandage. Niira didn't answer, continuing to watch her father.

"What happened?" she asked at last.

"What?" Lavitz looked up at her.

She pointed to his side.

Her father wore a tired expression. "Something that as good as cost me my life," he said. "An ancient Wingly weapon that could pierce even dragoon armor. I would have been lost for good if Rose hadn't intervened." He sounded as if just talking about it made it hurt again.

"Even dragoon armor?" Reezy mewled in shock. "How is that possible? Are you sure?"

"I was wearing the armor at the time. I am quite sure." Lavitz gave the priest a glare. "The weapon was destroyed at the end of the war. Thank Soa."

"Don't be thanking anyone yet," said a female voice from behind Niira. She stepped forward, revealing herself to be dark-feathered hawk-like reptilian creature. Niira stared at her for a few moments before giving up on figuring out who or what she was. "We can only hope Phoenix hasn't gotten wind of such a weapon in the time we've been gone."

Lavitz shuddered.

"You've been gone?" Niira queried.

"Yes." The feathered reptilian eyed her.

"Gone where? Who are you?"

As if in response, Niira felt her dragoon spirit suddenly begin throbbing with magic. Curious, she pulled it from its pocket; instantly it burst into a dazzling light display.

"Oh. You're a dragoon too. This certainly has been a day for meeting the newcomers."

"Newcomers?" Niira was staring into the light.

"Well, you are to me." She pointed at a chain than hung around her neck, from which dangled a dull yellow dragoon spirit. On command, the spirit joined Niira's in its shimmering. "I'm Heja, Pale Dust Dragoon. Serpent Mother sent me and Guilao and Ereil here to help you."

"_The Three!_" Reezy whispered excitedly.

Niira swallowed. _Serpent Mother must believe things will be getting worse far sooner then anyone had expected. Now all of our dragoons are here...except for Shining Claw. His turn to show up now._

_Things are just going from bad to worse lately._ Niira brushed at her eyes. Her sight was getting blurry again.

"Enough of the light show." It was Shadow Hunter. "If you want to come with me and Coen to Bale now, let's go."

"What about the rest of us?" Heja asked.

"Whatever. It's not my concern." Shadow Hunter waved her black-scaled hand dismissively. "Doubt anything will happen to you before you leave, Phoenix isn't stupid. He won't attack a camp with this many dragoons sitting in it. Then again, maybe he would, you do make a nice target." She said that with a wry grin.

_Would you stop being so...so..._you_, just for once?_ Niira hurried after the healer, determined to go wherever Coen was taken.

_I can't._

_Damn it, stupid mind-speakers._

Shadow Hunter's eerie laugh echoed in Niira's mind.

-----

Shadow Hunter had decided on flying herself back to Bale, shocking her companions with the news of her Wingly parentage by simply displaying her wings of light and flying off into the dimming evening light, the still-unconscious Coen in her arms.

Why she didn't just orb herself back to Bale, like Winglies were supposed to be able to do, Niira didn't know. _Maybe it'd be too hard on Coen. Or maybe Shadow Hunter can't, because she's only half Wingly. At least, I'm assuming she's only half..._

Kitty followed the glow of Shadow Hunter's wings, bearing Niira and Reezy on his back. The gryff let out an excited hoot every so often, a sound that echoed back from the nearby hills.

Not far behind them on horseback was Lavitz. Niira wasn't sure why he wanted to come along. She knew from experience that riding while wounded, as he was, was not a very enjoyable task. Yet he still came.

The group raced onward to Bale. Kitty began to pant hard, but Reezy goaded him to continue. Niira clung to the gryff's feathery mane, closing her eyes tightly. _Coen...please...hold on._


	37. Life, or Something Like It

They reached Bale early in the morning. The city was silent, the only movements visible from the outside being the city's guards who were on watch along the outer walls. The group approached these walls at a rapid pace, giving the guards little time to see them before Shadow Hunter simply flew over the wall.

Kitty was still some distance behind the half-Wingly, but Niira could still hear the shouts of surprise from the guards. She could see some of the men disappear from the wall in pursuit of Shadow Hunter, even though it would be a worthless cause. Shadow Hunter would be to Indels while they were still racing through the streets trying to find her.

Niira halted Kitty in front of the outer gate. Though the gryff could of course fly over as well, it would probably cause even more alarm among the guards. Which in the end would only impede their progress to the castle.

"Hey!" Niira shouted up to the guards. "Open the gate!"

After a few moments, a couple of the men stared down at them. "Who are you?"

"I'm Niira!"

"Right. And what's the _thing_ you're sitting on?"

"Why does it matter?"

"A Wingly just flew into the city and now you want to bring that monster in as well?"

Niira growled softly, frustrated.

"That Wingly was Shadow Hunter," Reezy said.

"Oh so the rescue has returned?"

"Just open the damn gate!" Niira snarled.

"Not if that beast is coming in."

"Just open the gate." Lavitz's horse trotted up next to them.

"S-sir Lavitz?"

"Now."

There was the sound of people scrambling around, the the dull metallic clang of the locks being opened. The heavy doors slowly swung inwards. Lavitz urged his horse into the city at a slow canter. Kitty responded with a soft "mr-r-reek!" and followed suit.

They rushed through the city, uphill to Indels Schloss. A few stray cats watched them with glowing eyes, before running off to hide once more.

The guards at the castle gate were already waiting for them, and they were able to continue to the castle itself without any more pauses. Unsure of where Shadow Hunter had taken Coen, Lavitz turned his horse straight up the stairway to Indels' front door. The poor beast, already exhausted from the night's travels, was gasping as it forced itself up the steps.

"Oh! Oh! There you are!" Happy Tail sailed in from the shadows of the castle, landing in front of Lavitz's horse. "Where are you going? Never mind, I know."

"Then move."

"No, no, they're all down in the infirmary."

"Where's King Albert?"

"He's...getting down there."

"Move."

"Why? The infirmary's down the stairs, not up."

"I need to get to His Majesty."

"Not without a shirt you don't."

In the rush to get back to Bale, Lavitz had not been able to locate another shirt for himself. If the knighthoods had even been able to bring such extra supplies in the first place. He had simply allowed the doctor to wrap his wounds, grabbed the horse, and run after Shadow Hunter.

Lavitz sighed, but eventually he turned his horse around and headed back down the stairs.

"How's Coen?" Niira asked the avian messenger.

"Don't know. Didn't get a chance to see him."

"Come on, Niira," Reezy said in a low voice. He clicked to Kitty, who obediently turned around and began his descent from the top of the stairs.

-----

She found Coen in one of the more secluded rooms of the infirmary. Not even bothering to look at Shadow Hunter, Niira rushed into the room to her friend's bedside. "Coen!..." _He's so still...why is he so quiet?..._ She could feel herself shaking again. Coen lay unconscious on the sheets, barely breathing, his skin pale and covered with a sheen o f sweat.

Shadow Hunter was humming to herself. She was in an eerily cheerful mood. "You going?" she sang softly. "Going to the river?"

"Shut up," Niira hissed.

"Calm down." The Topaz Dragoon was toying with her weapons, the long metal claws that she wore on her wrists. Which she was wearing.

Niira didn't want to think about why Shadow Hunter would be wearing them.

"I have work to do, if you don't mind."

"I'm staying here."

"Suit yourself."

Before Shadow Hunter could do anything, someone stepped to the door. Both Northlanders turned to look. Lavitz was standing just inside, a loose shirt now covering his bandaged torso. Behind him, leaning against the door frame, was King Albert. The king certainly looked as if his condition had worsened in the few days they had been away. Slowly, with obvious effort, Albert walked to Coen. Niira could hear his painful breathing and looked away, hoping the king hadn't seen the fear in her eyes.

"Gods above Coen...why?" Albert whispered.

"He's saved your life, you know," Shadow Hunter commented, but the king didn't seem to hear.

_Saved his life for what? My best friend is dying._ Niira shifted herself so she could half lay down on the pillow, above Coen's head. She didn't care what others thought about that any more. _I don't want him to die._

For once, Shadow Hunter didn't make her usual snarky telepathic reply.

"King Albert..."

It was Coen speaking. Startled, Niira sat up halfway so she could see him. The knight was looking up at Albert, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Coen, don't talk." Albert was trembling, though whether it was from his own illness or some unspoken emotion, Niira couldn't tell.

"You think...you think this is enough...to make up for what I've done?" Coen did smile then, an expression of sadness rather than joy. Too weak to say more, Coen closed his eyes again.

_What are you talking about? Coen?_ Niira prodded his shoulder, but he didn't respond.

With a soft hiss, Shadow Hunter pushed her way between king and knight. "Leave us. I will find you when I've retrieved the Moon Object." She had switched back to her typical ornery personality.

Albert only nodded, never looking away from Coen. Eventually, Lavitz stepped forward, putting his hand on the king's shoulder, and steadied him as they walked out of the room.

Satisfied that she could now do her job, Shadow Hunter pushed the door closed before stalking to the bed. "Don't get in my way," she growled to Niira.

Niira only nodded dumbly as she lay down again, resting her hand on Coen's shoulder, against his neck. _I'll never forgive myself if he dies._

"He won't die."

"How do you know?"

"Nobody has ever died while in my care. Unless I wanted them to." The reptilian flashed her a toothy smile. And then she flicked her arm forward, to the wound in Coen's side, her metal wrist-claws still very much in position.

Niira squeezed her eyes shut, not wanted to know what damage had been inflicted. Coen was still conscious enough to feel whatever Shadow Hunter had done to him. He twitched, crying out softly in pain; Niira could feel the muscles along his neck grow tense from the pain. Then he fell limp.

"Coen!" Niira whimpered into the pillow.

"Oh shut up. He's just passed out again." The former Fireborn stepped away, her hands cupped around a small object Niira couldn't see. But she could certainly feel it. Its magic buzzed through the air around her, setting her nerves on edge.

_So that's the Moon Scintillation. Something so small..._ Niira brushed her thumb over her friend's brown hair. "Why did you do something so stupid?" she whispered, even though she knew he wouldn't hear her.

"Probably to keep this thing alive."

"What do you mean?"

Shadow Hunter was cleaning the Moon Object with a small cloth. It glowed with a soft, warm light. "It's an odd kind of magic. Seems to need something else to exchange energy with in order to stay alive. In this case, a human. If it was without that kind of support for as long as I've been told, it was probably close to being dead when your friend here found it."

Niira gave a half-hearted laugh. "Coen doesn't understand that much about magic to realize what it needed." That was one thing she knew for certain. Even as a boy, Coen had been less interested in magic than perhaps anyone else in all of Basil.

Shadow Hunter shrugged, using the cloth to now clean her wrist-claws. "Doesn't matter much, does it? He's saved your king and really irritated Phoenix. Such is life."

"What about Coen?"

"I told you, he'll be fine." Satisfied that her weapons were clean again, Shadow Hunter paced to the door and pulled it open. "Now, I have work to do." She walked out, leaving Niira to her thoughts.

-----

Alakyl and Reezy had found her some time after Shadow Hunter's departure. They begged Niira to come away, to have something to eat or to get some sleep, but she only turned them away. She had no desire to leave her friend alone.

She almost did leave when a sharp yell echoed down the hall of the infirmary. Sitting up, she listened curiously. _That was Albert._

_Oh no, what did Shadow Hunter do to him?_

Shadow Hunter answered that herself. _I did _nothing

_Then what was all the shouting for?_

_That was him being all upset about me putting the Moon Scintillation behind his breastbone._

_I...see._ Niira sighed, flopping back onto the bed. Since no further outbursts had been heard, she decided that the situation had been resolved in some way or another. She closed her eyes and shuddered. _All our dragoons have been found. The war is almost here. Please let it end quickly. I'm tired of seeing other people suffer who shouldn't even be involved in it._

She must have fallen asleep, as the next thing she remembered was being woken up by the sound of someone walking toward the room. Tiredly she opened her eyes. Her father was looking in at her, appearing every bit as exhausted as she felt.

"Niira, come on. There's nothing more you can do for him."

"I want to stay."

Lavitz sighed. "I want to stay with Albert, but I can't right now. We need our rest too."

After a few moments' hesitation, Niira stood stiffly. Her father was right, of course. And she didn't want to risk having him literally drag her to her feet again.

"Have you eaten anything since we left the camp?"

"No."

The knight beckoned for her to come out of the room. She followed him obediently. "I'm sure my mother would be willing to cook up something even at this time of night."

"Night? How long have we been back?"

"Nearly a day now."

"Oh."

-----

Niira was tired enough that time went by here in a blur. She remembered walking to her grandmother's house, sitting in the dining room and eating something, she couldn't recall what. Perhaps she had talked with her Adie, she couldn't remember. She could only hope whatever she said had made sense, as even her thoughts were muddled from exhaustion.

She had finally collapsed on one of the chairs by the fireplace. She wanted to sleep, but she couldn't. Her mind was a whirl of thoughts and emotions from the past few days. Instead, she just stared into the low flames of the fire.

"Niira, will you go to bed already?" her father asked from behind her. She hadn't heard him walk in.

"I can't." Her voice sounded empty to her ears.

Lavitz walked into the light and sat in one of the other chairs. "You're not the only one who's worried about things, you know."

"I know." _But that doesn't make me worry any less._

They sat in silence for a while.

"What's bothering you?"

_So many things..._

"Niira?"

She couldn't bring herself to look at her father. "What was he talking about?"

"Who?"

"Coen. When Albert came in."

The long silence from Lavitz unnerved her. "Well. I suppose you'd have to find out sooner or later."


	38. Coen's Story

Okay. This entire chapter is a flashback. I'm not going to put it in italics because that'd be a huge chuck of italicized text to have to read.

Long chapter ahead. You've been warned. :)

-----

He could still remember where he had been that day. In the throne room, standing next to King Albert up on his elevated platform, talking about something or another. Most likely something besides the rogue Sandorans who still made trouble in Serdio even though their emperor was long dead. They were both tired of dealing with the outlaws, tired of talking about them and trying to end their resistance.

Which was exactly what was going on, and had been for a few weeks prior. News had reached Indels that what probably represented the bulk of the rogue army had gathered in the southwest of Serdio, and that they were making their way north. Two knighthoods, the Second and Third, had been dispatched to take care of the threat. Whether or not they had been successful was not known yet.

Lavitz had stayed in Bale instead of fighting with them. His own company of knights had been dealing with the Sandorans in previous months, and it would have hardly been smart to send out the exhausted men when thirteen other knighthoods were available.

It was that day when Radulf, the lieutenant of the Third Knighthood, walked into the throne room to greet his king. The fact that the man was alone, his captain nowhere to be seen, nor the officers of the Second, caused something inside of Lavitz to turn cold. Something was wrong.

"My lord." Radulf bowed, going down on one knee.

"Rise," Albert said simply. The knight did as such. Albert hesitated; he too could tell something was wrong. "Was the Sandoran threat met?"

"It was. They proved a...bit more of a challenge than we had foreseen, but they should no longer pose a significant problem to us."

"Excellent. Well done."

Radulf only glanced briefly at Lavitz. The look in his eyes was one of nervousness, fear...and sadness. It was something Lavitz had never seen in the older man before.

"Where is Sir Arlo?" The First Knight asked at last. "Why did he not come in here with you?"

"He...cannot."

"Why? Is he wounded?"

"Yes, but..." A pause.

"What happened?" the king addressed Radulf.

"I'd much rather tell you this in more private quarters. With the officers of the Second present. And Coen."

"Coen? Why?" Albert furrowed his brow.

"Because he knows everything."

-----

The conference room was oddly silent. Lavitz sat leaned over the table, elbows resting on the wood's smooth surface, his hands covering his face, a most unofficial posture. But he cared little about proper things right now.

He could still remember, all those years ago, the one misjudged decision he had made during the Civil War that had cost him nearly the entire First Knighthood. One choice that had meant the deaths of almost two hundred good men, many of whom had left families behind. They had trusted him with their lives...and lost them.

It replayed in his mind as the news of this current situation sunk in. Yet again, one man's decision had caused the deaths of most of his company--as well as those of another knighthood, and civilians in one of the nearby towns. The Third Knighthood had a mere fraction of its original numbers now. The Second had suffered significant losses as well. The man responsible had been Arlo, the head of the Third Knighthood. And his decision had been to betray Serdio, to put his men in a position where they would be slaughtered by the soldiers of Sandora. The only reason the total obliteration of the Serdians hadn't occurred was because Arlo had been wounded before he could complete his commands; knights of the Second had found him and taken him captive to prevent him from doing further damage.

What made the situation worse was that Lavitz and Albert had allowed Arlo to join the Basilian knights during the Serdian War, while they both knew full well that Arlo and his wife were from Sandora. _They_ had trusted him. The other knights had trusted him, to the point of naming him their commander. And yet Arlo had just been waiting for a chance such as this.

It made Lavitz wonder if the man had been involved with more unnecessary deaths during the Serdian War that nobody was truly aware of. _How many lives could have been saved if we had noticed this sooner?_

Arlo's son Coen was one of the survivors of the massacre. With the sudden disappearance of their commander, the knights of the Third had turned to Radulf and Coen for leadership. Radulf because of his rank, and Coen because he was one of the few left who had the ability and knowledge to command the soldiers. He had been given that training by his father. Lavitz could understand that; his own father had taught him the meaning of being the First Knight of Serdio, and Lavitz therefore had been the one who was able to take his position when he had died.

Although those had certainly been different circumstances than the ones Coen was facing.

_He's even younger than I was when I became the First Knight._ Lavitz looked at him, where he sat further down the table. Coen's eyes were blank, and he didn't seem to even be aware of where he was. _They've as good as forced him into being the commander of the Third. Why didn't they choose Radulf instead? Coen isn't ready for this. The boy is in shock. It's a wonder he was able to get back to Bale in one piece._

King Albert spoke at long last, from his seat at the head of the table. "Sir Coen."

Coen snapped back to reality then, although the terrified look never left him. "Your majesty?"

"Sir Radulf said you know everything about what happened. Beyond what he and the other have just told us."

"Yes." His voice was so low, even Lavitz could barely hear him.

"How did you come across this knowledge?"

"I..." The young knight looked away and visibly shuddered.

The others waited patiently.

"I know because he told me."

"Your father?"

"Yes. He told me everything. Every detail of his plan, what he was going to do." Coen was still shaking, but his speech had taken on a determined edge.

"What...?" Albert was running his fingers along the arm of the chair. Lavitz recognized it as a sign of agitation.

Coen looked the king straight in the eye. "He told me everything the night before the battle. I knew what he was going to do. Exactly what he would do. I knew and I couldn't... I did nothing to stop him. I let him do it. I did nothing..." The look of shock appeared on his face again, and he fell silent abruptly.

Lavitz could only stare at him. _Great Soa, no wonder he's so upset. He just aided in an act of treason against Serdio._

-----

Albert and Lavitz were alone in one of the upper rooms of Indels Schloss. There were plenty of chairs, but neither man was sitting. Lavitz was leaning against the frame of the single, but large, window of the room. The king, on the other hand, was slowly pacing along the far wall. As he had told Lavitz before, moving around kept his mind from becoming too obsessed with his distress, kept it clear so he could think. It was still a strange sight to see, even to Lavitz. The normally even-tempered, optimistic Albert acting like a crazed caged animal.

"So what do you suggest?" Albert asked, not stopping his pacing.

"What else? By law Arlo must either face prison or execution..." _The man who murdered my father escaped that fate. At least, until I found him._ Lavitz frowned.

Albert's face also reflected his dislike of the 'execution' part. "I meant about Coen."

"I don't know." Lavitz turned his attention back to the window. Just because he knew the military laws backwards and forwards, and just because he was the person who had to deal with cases such as these didn't mean he _liked_ it.

"I certainly don't believe he did it on purpose."

"He didn't." The First Knight knew that much. _Arlo had the boy terrified of him. Soa knows Radulf and I tried to help him, but Arlo was just too good at undoing anything we managed to accomplish. Damn, why didn't I see what this was leading to sooner?_

"He's a good person. I don't _want_ to send him to prison."

"That'd be worse than a death sentence for him," Lavitz agreed. "He wouldn't last down there." _He'd go crazy, that's what would happen._

"But he did still aid his father by doing nothing to stop him. What kind of punishment do you levy on someone like Coen?"

"I think..."

"What?" Albert was looking at him eagerly. The king truly did like Coen, if for no other reason than he had enjoyed watching the friendship between the young knight and his own best friend's daughter when they had been children.

Lavitz took a moment to think over what he was going to say. "I don't believe there'd be any way to make it work."

"Leave that to me."

"I think that letting him stay on active duty, in the Third Knighthood, would be punishment enough for him."

"Hmm." Albert had finally stopped his pacing.

"You've seen him. He's very sensitive to those around him. Having to see the other men of the Third who survived this...event would be enough to remind him of what happened, and what role he played in it. Trust me, it would work better as a punishment for him that prison."

"I do see where you're coming from." Albert was silent for a few moments. "I think I can make it happen."

Lavitz only nodded. _I'm so sorry Coen...but we have no choice in the matter, even if you were forced into this you are still a criminal right now._

"What about leaving him in his position as Third Knight?"

"What?" Lavitz turned to face his king, incredulous at what he had just heard.

Albert was looking back at him with a steady gaze. "Radulf knew what had happened, and I doubt Coen had explained it to him. Yet he still willingly followed Coen as the head knight. The men of the company still trust him."

"I know, but...that's just...with all due respect, your majesty..."

"Yes?"

"_I_ don't trust him. Not as captain of a whole company of knights."

Albert quirked a brow.

"Sure, he's capable enough, but he's...completely inexperienced. And he's certainly in no condition to be commanding right now."

"I'll keep your concerns in mind. I need to talk with Radulf about this before I make my decision."

"Of course."

Albert sighed. "And here I had been hoping the war with my uncle had been ended years ago. Now it's come down to things like _this_..." He shook his head. "Enough of that. Tell the others I'll be down shortly." With that, he turned away from Lavitz and began pacing once more.

Lavitz bowed shortly and quietly left the room.

-----

The past few days had been nothing short of a non-stop hell on earth for Lavitz. News of what had happened at the battle had slowly leaked to the other knighthoods, and inevitably, to the other citizens of Bale. And none of them were happy, especially not with Albert's decision to keep Coen as the Third Knight. Even Lavitz was upset by that, but he had other issues to deal with and couldn't afford to focus on just that one thing. _I know what Yamin would say now. "You don't want to be called a moon chaser too." Keep yourself in reality, yes._

But that didn't keep him from getting preoccupied with various aspects of what needed to be done. He had to find King Albert again, and who knew where the man was now. Albert could be in one place one moment, and on the total opposite side of Indels the next.

_But then, I guess he does live here, and he'd be used to doing that. _Lavitz hustled up yet another flight of stairs. _Soa above, I am going to need a drink when all this is through._

Reaching the next floor, he walked past a few empty rooms, and one of the balconies, the doors to which were edged open. _Maybe Albert's out here..._ He stepped to the doors, pushing them open.

Someone was out on the balcony, but it wasn't the king. It was Coen. Lavitz paused, surprised to see the other knight. Coen hadn't been around Indels much since Albert had declared his sentence.

"Coen? What are you doing up here?" Lavitz walked out onto the balcony.

"What does it look like?" There was no emotion to his voice as he gazed out over Bale.

"You can't hide up here forever."

"I'd rather be up here than down there...with _them_." Coen tilted his head slightly, indicating the houses spread below them, fanning out away from the castle.

"Give them time," Lavitz said softly, coming to stand next to the young knight, leaning against the railing.

"'Give them time?' Lavitz, they will kill me before that kind of time passes."

"Coen, they wouldn't..."

"Have you even been down into the city lately?" Coen sounded almost frantic. "The people are angry."

"I know they are."

"And since my father...since my father isn't around any more, it's _me_ they hate. They're still so angry from the whole Civil War...I'm a perfect target for them. Hell, I even _look_ Sandoran."

_He's so upset, he's hardly making any sense..._ It took Lavitz a few moments to make sense of what Coen had just said. Of course the people of Bale were angry. Their country had just been betrayed, and many had lost family members. That Coen had been allowed to keep his freedom was, to them, wrong in every sense of the word.

Angry people wanted a scapegoat, and right now Coen did present a very good one. And he did have a point in that he looked Sandoran; people from the south of Serdio tended to have darker eyes and hair, unlike the common lighter colors found in Basil. But that was hardly his fault.

"Won't you at least come inside?"

"I'd rather stay here."

Lavitz allowed the silence to hang between them as he too looked out over the city. _I used to look up at Indels from my house when I was a child. And to think that now I look down at my house from Indels._

"I know you had something to do with Albert's decision," Coen said, back to his numb state. "Why do you insist on helping me still? I'm an adult now, have been for a while. I can take care of myself."

"I'm just looking out for you," Lavitz replied.

"It's kind of funny...you and Radulf are more like fathers to me than my own ever was."

Lavitz knew this was true. Now that he looked back, he couldn't believe how much time he and the older knight had spent trying to keep Coen away from the influence of his father, and hopefully in some sane state of mind. _I guess it didn't work as well as we had hoped. Still, imagine how great the damage caused by the battle would have been if we hadn't done anything._ Coen had ended up spending time in Lavitz's care only because of his close friendship with Niira. Radulf had taken the boy in as well at times simply because he liked Coen...and disliked Arlo. How the Third Knighthood had stayed in one piece when the two highest-ranking individuals hated each other was beyond Lavitz. "Well..." he said after a while."Someone had to do the job."

Coen hesitated. "I miss her..." he whispered to himself.

"Hmm?"

The Third Knight didn't reply. Then, he gave a short laugh. "I couldn't help but think, this whole time...gods, Niira would hate me now." He cut the last word off, as if stung by the thought.

The sudden mention of his daughter twisted like a knife into Lavitz's heart. _Now? When I least need the subject of my daughter brought up?_ He had learned how to manage the pain of the loss of his family, but even the healing brought by many years could not dampen the pain when it decided to surface once more.

_He misses her too. I lost my only daughter, and he lost his only friend. Why does it surprise me that he would still care what she thinks about him?_ It still took Lavitz a few moments to compose himself. "No. I doubt she'd hate you. She didn't have the capacity to truly hate someone. Be disappointed, yes."

A muscle in Coen's jaw twitched, but he said nothing for a while. "I don't see how. I hate myself right now."

"I hated myself once, you know."

"I know. That's...not the same though."

"Not the same? I lost nearly all my men."

"But it wasn't due to something you could have stopped. And your father didn't turn traitor, he was killed by one."

Lavitz clenched a fist. "Enough."

Coen flinched, but said nothing more.

The First Knight slowly relaxed his hand, and then turned back to the door. Coen was not in any state of mind to be dealing with more anger directed towards him. Lavitz stopped when he reached the entryway. "Coen...saying what you did, telling the truth...that is not the mark of a traitor. Telling the truth, especially when it puts one's own self at risk, is something that takes more courage than most men possess. You took responsibility for what happened. You are a good person, if confused at times. You'll survive this."

"I wish I had that kind of confidence."

"You will. You are not Arlo, despite what you may think." With that said, Lavitz left the young man to his thoughts.

-----

Coen had disappeared again. After the conversation they had they night before, Lavitz worried that the knight might have done something to himself. As much as he hated to think about it, he wouldn't put it past Coen to purposely harm himself in some way or another.

Lavitz had been to the Third Knight's house, the upper balconies of Indels, as well as a few other places around the city he knew the young man frequented. He was nowhere to be found.

_I don't like this..._ Something was wrong. Coen was not stupid enough to try to run away to escape his fate, so that meant he was still somewhere in Bale. But some place where he couldn't be found. Worried, Lavitz head back towards Indels to find his lieutenant.

Although the First Knighthood was not on duty at the time, most of the men still preferred to be near or in the training grounds behind Indels. The second-in-command, Kynan, would likely be there as well, unless he was at home with his family.

Luckily, his guess was correct in that Kynan would be at Indels. The man was watching some of the knights who were sparring in the yard. "His Majesty Albert's been looking for you. Where have you been?"

"Looking for Coen."

"What for?"

"Because I'm worried about him."

Kynan glanced at him. "You worry too much."

"I can't find him."

"And this is a bad thing?"

"Kynan."

"Oh...oh, right. Yes, I do suppose that's a bad thing."

"He's somewhere in the city, I know that. But I can't find him."

"You don't think the people would have tried to do something, do you?"

"I hope not, but I have a feeling that's exactly what's happened."

"Damn. Well, what do you suggest we do about it? We can't very well go charging around in the city all battle-ready. Good luck getting the men to do that on their day off, anyway."

"Get what men you can and start a sweep of the city. Head up into the northwest section, I haven't been up there yet. And try not to make a big fuss about it."

"You're that serious about this, huh? All right then, will do."

-----

Lavitz walked through the city by himself, listening and watching. On the western side of the city, everything had been normal. It was the part of the city that was the most open though, and the closest to Indels. So of course if Coen was in trouble with the people of the city, he would be somewhere away from the castle. The eastern side. Lavitz himself rarely went to that part of Bale. He had little need to.

He could only hope that his worries were unfounded, that Coen was all right. Or that if he was in trouble, that help would not arrive too late.

A few citizens of the city glanced at Lavitz as he walked past. Some recognized him and made sure to give him room to pass. Others either didn't notice or didn't care. An off-duty knight who wasn't even wearing the colors of his company couldn't possibly want anything to do with _them_.

He caught a glance of Kynan walking the next street to his left. The knights were trained in city sweeps, although Lavitz had never imagined that he'd have to put that training to use in his home to look for one of his own country's knights. _Oh, if the city guard ever hears of this, I'll never hear the end of it. They're always so damn protective of 'their' territory...how dare us knights try to take that away from them..._

Turning a corner, he entered a part of Bale he had never been to before. There were fewer people here, none he knew personally. The few people who did see him gave him wary looks before returning to their business. He didn't return the looks, intent on his goal.

It was not long before he heard a din not far off. The sounds of many people talking, all of them in one area. The sound of an angry group. _Oh no..._ Bale had managed to avoid mobs and riots throughout most of its history, but this certainly sounded like on to Lavitz.

Picking up his pace to a jog, Lavitz soon found himself at the back of a large crowd. They were standing around a long-dry fountain, at the foot of which stood a man whom Lavitz took to be their leader. The First Knight couldn't hear what the man was saying, but he could see him motioning to something at his feet. Lavitz couldn't see what it was, but he had a sinking feeling it was Coen. _If they have him on the ground already...damn it..._

Stepping forward, Lavitz addressed the crowd in a loud, clear voice. "What is the meaning of this?"

The people nearest to him jumping slightly, turning around to see who had spoken. Then, as if in fear, they drew back, allowing Lavitz to walk through them to the fountain. He stalked through the crowd, trying to quell the rage that was growing inside. Yes, it was Coen who was on the ground in front of the fountain. His arms were tied loosely behind his back, and he was on his knees on the hard stone street. There were more than a few cuts and bruises on what skin was exposed, and the dark stains on Coen's tunic indicated more hidden wounds. He didn't look up as Lavitz approached.

When he was close enough to the fountain, Lavitz faced the crowd, clenching his fists, beyond trying to control his anger any more. "I _said_, what is the meaning of this?" His tone dared someone to respond.

Someone did respond, in silence. The dragoon spirit that hung on a chain around his neck, hidden beneath his shirt, began to buzz, begging to be released. Lavitz ignored its siren call. The last time he had allowed the dragoon power to control his anger--or was it the other way around?--he had ended up dead, or something like it. It was not something he wanted to experience again.

Kynan emerged from one side street, followed by two other knights. He made his way quickly to Lavitz. At the sight of the soldiers gathering, some of the people began to disperse. Others were a bit more reluctant to give up what they felt was a piece of justice.

Kynan frowned at the scene. "All of you. Leave. Before we change our minds and arrest every last one of you."

Lavitz heard a shifting noise behind him. Spinning around, he reached out and grabbed the leader of the mob by his shirt, just as he was trying to get away. "You're not given that option," he growled.

The man gaped for a moment, then snarled and tried to twist out of the knight's grasp. To no avail. "Damn you! Let me the hell go!"

"Lavitz..." Kynan reached out to pull Lavitz's arm down. "Let me handle this. You came here for someone else." Then he nodded towards Coen.

The young man had since fallen over on his side. His eyes were closed, as if he had no idea what was going on around him.

Slowly, the First Knight released his grip on the mob leader. Kynan was right, of course. When he was sure his lieutenant would have no more trouble from the man, he knelt to check on Coen.

Coen still didn't look up, or make any indication that he was aware someone was right next to him. His breath was ragged, indicating a fairly serious injury, or shock...or both. Lavitz tugged on the ropes that bound Coen's wrists, and they soon fell away. "Can you get up?" he said softly.

Coen did glance up then. Moving his now-free arms to lever himself up, he managed to raised his body from the ground a few inches. Then he shuddered and collapsed once more.

_Hells...what did they do to you?_ Carefully, Lavitz slid one arm under Coen's torso and lifted him to his feet. The Third Knight was trembling, although whether it was from emotional or physical trauma, Lavitz couldn't tell. Shifting his hold on the young knight, Lavitz half-dragged Coen back down the road towards Indels.

-----

Even despite the time it took Coen to recover from the wounds he received during the mob attack, the Third Knight had not been able to control his anxieties regarding what his father had done. Returning to duty, not to mention a commanding position, was not going well for him. Instead, most control ended up being passed to Radulf while Coen spent his time trying to straighten himself out.

Coen spent his time either being alone with his thoughts back in his house, or training at Indels. His excuse was that he needed to regain his strength from being confined in the infirmary due to his injuries, but everyone knew he was just trying to keep his mind off of what had happened. With little luck.

He especially enjoyed sparring with Radulf, whom he considered to be his one remaining friend among the knights. They often did such matches in one of the rooms in the lower levels of Indels, rather than out in the fields. Coen hated having to face the other knights, and sparring with them watching never failed to shake him.

Raising his sword just in time to block a blow from the older knight, Coen felt his arms jar from the force with which the weapons collided. A muscle in his back spasmed, a pain that hadn't quite healed since the mob attack. Flinching from the jolt of pain, Coen was knocked to the floor.

"Coen, are you even paying attention?" Exasperated, Radulf lowered his sword.

Coen pushed himself to his feet, not meeting his companion's eyes. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"Are you going to focus or should we quit for the day?"

He didn't answer. _I just want to be doing something, anything, to keep my mind off..._that"I'm sorry..." he said again. "Some other time."

Radulf grunted acknowledgment, sheathing his weapon and walking away. Coen walked to a nearby table, staring at the cups of water that sat there. He reached for his tunic, but then stopped. _Why...? Why me? I never asked for this...I just wanted..._ A sudden surge of rage washed over him, and he lashed out with his sword.

The cups of water were thrown against the wall with a resounding clang. The liquid splattered everywhere, darkening the stone of the wall and floor. Coen simply watched it, his body tense, panting after his sudden outburst. _It was...so sudden...is this the same anger that led my father to do what he did?_

_I don't want this._

Radulf looked at him in surprise. Then he spoke in a low voice. "Coen, are you ready to be doing this again?"

"No!" Coen emphatically jabbed at the floor with his sword. It clinked softly. "Every damn day, I have to see _them_." By 'them,' he meant the knights of Serdio. "Every time I see them, I'm reminded of what happened. I can't...I can't..." He wasn't able to finish that statement. _And this is exactly why I was put here. I know that's why Lavitz and Albert left me here instead of in prison with my father. Gods...this is worse than hell. _Again he tapped at the floor with his weapon. "I'm not fit to be leading them. I never was. I'm not fit to even be called a knight any more."

Radulf was silent for a while as he walked to where the cups had rolled, picking one up. "Go home," he said. "Go have a rest. Come back next week."

"Radulf..."

"I think you know that you're in no condition to be trying to command the knighthood yet." He then flashed his famous good-natured smile at Coen. "I'm sure I can handle the ruffians for a week. Yes, you go...rest. Have a drink. But only one, you don't handle several very well."

"I'm aware of that." Shakily, Coen sheathed his sword.

Both of the knights looked up to the doorway of the room, as if on cue. Looking in on them was King Albert. For a moment, they could only stare at their lord in shock. Albert rarely came down into this part of Indels, by himself at any rate. The king gave them a small, mysterious smile. "Ah...I was looking for Lavitz. Has he been down here today?"

"No, your majesty," Radulf answered. "And no, I don't know where he is at the moment."

"Hmm."

Coen had turned away from the king, hastily pulling his shirt on. He hoped his current mental state of fear and anger hadn't been visible on his face for Albert to notice. _He has enough problems of his own to be dealing with right now._

He had forgotten exactly how perceptive the king was. "Coen...come with me. We need to talk."

Obediently, Coen followed him as he left the room.

-----

_How on _earth_ does Albert keep managing to disappear like this?_ Lavitz knew his king was looking for him. He was looking for Albert, but as of yet they hadn't found each other. It was nothing new to Lavitz. Either Albert was just running around trying to get something done, or he had met up with someone else and gotten caught in a conversation, which could last a long time. Albert loved to talk.

Lavitz smirked and continued through the hallways. _Half the time, nobody knows what the hell he's saying anyway. I swear he invents words just to confuse..._

Something had bumped into his legs. Jerked back into reality, Lavitz quickly glanced around him.

Appearing just as dazed was Diandra, Albert's young daughter. She craned her neck to look up at the knight.

_I guess all small children are like that,_ Lavitz thought amusedly to himself. _Unable to see and avoid things four times their size._ "What are you doing up here, princess?" He knew the child was still too young to be wandering Indels Schloss by herself.

"I can't find my father," she replied simply, as if it should be obvious.

"I can't find him either."

"Oh..." She sounded disappointed.

"You want to help me find him?"

Diandra brightened. "Okay!"

The child bounced along beside Lavitz as they continued down the corridor. She babbled on happily, glad to have someone to be with. Lavitz, on the other hand, was mostly silent. _Easy to see which parent she gets that trait from. People said that Niira..._ He shook his head. _First Coen has to bring her up, and now Diandra. _No matter how hard he tried to keep the past where it belonged, every time he saw Albert's daughter there was a feeling of guilt and pain that crept into his heart. How long had it been now that Niira had disappeared? Twelve years? He had honestly lost count. He didn't want to keep count. _When she died, she was hardly older than Diandra..._

"There he is!" Diandra exclaimed.

They had been walking past one of the balconies, the doors to which were open. Albert stood out there, talking in a low voice. In front of him was a very distressed and crestfallen Coen, who answered the king without looking up.

Diandra stepped forward to meet her father. Lavitz set a hand on her shoulder, restraining her. This did not look like something that anyone, even the king's own daughter, should interrupt.

"Is the knight in trouble?" Diandra whispered up to Lavitz.

"No...no, I don't think so." If Coen was truly in trouble with the king, Albert would be taking much more a drastic measure than a simple talk.

Again the princess tried to move, but Lavitz held her still. "Wait," he whispered to her.

But by this time, Albert had realized they were there anyway. "Yes?"

"Sorry to disturb, your majesty," Lavitz said. "We can come back later."

"No, that's not necessary. We're through." He looked at the young knight, nodding slightly, indicating that he was dismissed.

Diandra rushed to her father. Lavitz took a little more time in approaching the king. As he and the Third Knight passed each other, Coen glanced at him, his eyes full of pain. Then he was back inside the castle, leaving Lavitz and the royals alone.

Albert had his daughter in his arms, a soft smile on his face. "What are you doing out in the castle by yourself, young lady?"

"I wasn't by myself," she stated impudently. "Sir Lavitz was with me."

"Oh, was he now?"

"Yes." Then she twisted her face into something resembling an accusatory glare. "I couldn't find you for my lessons today!"

"Ah...yes, it is time for that, isn't it? I'm sorry I wasn't there. There was something I had to talk about with Sir Coen."

"Okay. He's not in trouble, is he?"

Albert was silent for a beat. Then he set Diandra on the ground again. "Not any more. You get back to the study and I'll be there in a bit."

"Yay!" Diandra rushed back inside.

"Diandra!"

Startled, the girl half-turned back to her father. Then she drew herself up as tall as she could and attempted a calm walk. As soon as she was out of sight, Lavitz could hear her running again.

The knight smiled to himself. "I wish I had been that eager to go to school when I was her age," he muttered. "Is Coen all right?"

"He will be," Albert said. "Once he learns to forgive himself."

"You honestly think he can do that?"

"You don't?" Albert gave his knight a severe look.

"I have my doubts."

"Have faith in him. He just needs time."

"I hope that's all."


	39. Another Complication

Wow I've been busy lately. Hurray for school starting soon. Didn't mean to abandon the fic, I just haven't had any inspiration lately.

-----

The coming days went by slowly to Niira. Coen's condition had not improved, and she wanted nothing more than to stay with him until he was better again. But the last time she had been down to the infirmary, she had been forcefully pushed by out again by Shadow Hunter, who had claimed the area as her own. Not wanting to disturb the rather scary healer any further, Niira passed her time idly wandering around Indels. Not even Princess Diandra's talkative nature could bring her out of her gloom.

What made her even more gloomy was that there was nothing for her to do. Phoenix and his armies had been strangely quiet ever since the fiasco at the old mountain fort. Nobody was brave enough to want to try to sneak down to Volcano Villude to find out what they were up to. Not only was it likely the Fireborn were there, but Phoenix himself could very well be at the volcano. And since the armies had pulled out of everyone's line of sight, there was nothing to do but wait.

And this irritated Niira.

Ereil, the Northlands' earth dragoon, had commented that they could very well be waiting for several months. Since Phoenix and the Fireborn were creatures of fire, the rapidly-approaching winter months presented a large roadblock to their movements and powers. The musteliforms, the bulk of the armies, were not suited to moving in cold weather either. Ereil stated that they were all probably just holing themselves up somewhere for the winter. But even still, trying to waltz in to any of the enemy's strongholds would only be asking for trouble.

This irritated Niira even more. For once, she wished for the warm winters of the Northlands, so that they could attack Phoenix and his minions and end this war.

There was still the issue of the thousands of enemy soldiers. Even if Albert was willing to lend his knights' aid, and if all the dragoons from both continents fought, they would still be heavily outnumbered.

_All the dragoons...that means my uncle, too._

Niira was losing count of how many things she had to be depressed about.

Alakyl silently endured her sister's dark mood. She trailed by Niira's side wherever she went, though she said little. Niira was glad for the company, even if Alakyl's desire to huddle against someone whenever a chill autumn blew nearly bowled her over.

Rather than spar with the knights or other dragoons like she usually did, Niira opted to spend her time in the quieter places of Indels Schloss--the upper balconies. Nobody liked to be out on them when the weather grew cold, Niira least of all. But somehow she found comfort in temperatures as miserable as she felt inside.

That was how she and Alakyl were the first to see the stranger approaching the castle.

"Wuff."

Niira blinked. That was the first thing she had heard Alakyl say in quite a long time. "What?"

"Rrr...uff. _Up._"

The half-blood turned her face to the sky. The day was overcast and chilly, the clouds threatening to rain some time later that evening. To the east, she could make out a dark smudge against the gray sky...and it was coming towards them.

_An avian? Flying in this weather?_ Niira narrowed her eyes against the wind. _Please tell me it's not one of Phoenix's..._ Her right hand clenched into a fist. That was the last thing they needed right now, another one of the fire lord's 'deals'.

_But it's coming from the east. Phoenix's armies are to the south, and then some still in the Northlands. Unless...he's moving them._ That was another thing she didn't want to deal with right now, that was Ereil's prediction of the enemy hiding for the winter being wrong. How much more did they know about Phoenix would be wrong?

"Wuff says wuff."

"One of Phoenix's messengers, do you think?"

The wolf shook her head. "_Act like Serpent Mother's._"

"Happy Tail is her messenger to us though."

"_Emergency?_"

_I hope not._ The avian was closer now, and Niira could see that he had reddish feathers. "You'd better be right about this." She whistled a few notes, the signal that the messenger had been seen and was allowed to land. As the avian angled toward them, Niira raised her hand and waved a bit to make sure they were seen.

A few minutes later, the red avian landed next to them on thee balcony, his sides trembling as he gasped for breath. His feathers showed signs of wear--he had been flying for a long time without pausing to preen his feathers back into shape. And sure enough, he wore a bandoleer much like Happy Tail's, indicating he was in the service of Serpent Mother.

"I come...fast as I can..." The avian spoke the language of Endiness with a heavy accent. The avians were able to learn languages in seemingly impossibly short lengths of time, but this one had obviously not spoken the human language very long at all. "So fast...told to get help from big city..."

Alakyl watched him quizzically.

"Er...why don't we get you inside first?" Niira suggested, feeling strangely awkward. "Let you warm up before you try talking again." _And give me some time to figure out exactly who you need to talk to._

The avian bobbed his head. "Yes, yes...warm please."

-----

Leaving Alakyl with the newcomer, Niira set off to try to find someone, anyone, who would be in a better position than she to give the avian help. _Happy Tail maybe...I guess I should find him so that _he_ can go find someone else. He's better at it than I am._

Her wanderings took her through the throne room, where she was shocked to see King Albert sitting on his throne once more, though he was weakly leaning back against it. He still looked lean and in pain, but his skin was no longer the deathly pale it had once been. _He's already able to sit up once more...and Coen still hasn't woken up._ Niira fought to keep the tears from her eyes.

Minister Noish and Lavitz were talking with the king. Albert was still the only one to see Niira, and he nodded at her politely. Seeing the motion, Lavitz turned. "Oh... What brings you indoors on this fine day?" The fact that it was her father, not Albert, who spoke indicated that the king was still in a great deal of pain indeed.

"Um...well..." She glanced from her father to Noish and back again. "Alakyl and I were up on one of the high balconies, and this avian just seemed to come out of nowhere, and he's asking for help."

"What avian?" the minister asked.

"I don't know. I didn't ask for his name. He's one of Serpent Mother's messengers though."

"What did he say?" Her father wore a concerned expression.

"That's about it," Niira admitted. "We have him in one of the conference rooms so he can warm up. He's exhausted."

"Well, when he's ready, bring him here."

Niira nodded and, bowing quickly to Albert, backed out of the throne room. As she climbed the stairs to the conference room, she pondered to herself. _My father spoke for the king of Serdio. Was that just because he's Albert's friend and they trust one another, or is it because of my father being the First Knight?_ She turned her concentration back to climbing stairs. There were other matters more important that they had to deal with right now. One being the strange red avian.

She only had to pause once to catch her breath on the way up. _These damn castles have too many stairs_, she concluded as she entered the room. The avian was busy obsessively nibbling at his wing feathers, trying to fix them. Alakyl watched him from her spot in front of the fireplace. Upon Niira's entry, they both looked at her.

"Get help now?" the avian asked.

"Maybe. Depends on what King Albert decides."

The stranger whistled excitedly and raised his crest, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Yes! Yes! I told to find King Albert!"

"By whom?"

"His soldiers."

_What on earth is going on here?_ Niira stared at him for a few moments. _Where did he meet up with knights?_ She couldn't recall which knighthood might be currently stationed to the east. _My father would know._ "Well, if you're ready, I can take you down now."

"Yes yes, now."

By the time they reached the throne room, Happy Tail was there as well. He and the red avian exchanged a few whistles and clicks in their native language before getting to the business of the meeting.

"All right then," Lavitz said slowly. "What brings you to Bale?"

The red avian drew himself up and took a deep breath. "Help. We need help to stop armies of Phoenix from coming here."

"You're a little late for that," said Lavitz with a hint of distaste.

"No, no...more armies."

"More?"

"He move some of his Northland army down here." He paused, then, realizing he was being allowed to continue his story, he started up again. "Big army move east across barrens. We could not reach them, but we chase them as they come across water to Endiness."

Reading the questioning look on the Serdians' faces, Niira explained. "The barrens are a strip of land north of the feliform territories. They're just rock and heat. It's where we pushed the Fallen into when they decided to turn against Serpent Mother."

"So the armies bypassed you?" Lavitz asked, looking at the avian.

"Try to go across the barrens without proper preparations is just asking for a death sentence," Niira stated.

The avian bobbed his head. "The Reisch very upset. He try to catch them before they cross the water, but they escape. So Reisch take his army across the water too."

"The Reisch is in Endiness?" Niira stared at the red stranger.

"Yes. We catch them on the shore, but they escape again." The avian indicated some of his feathers, which Niira could now see had not been damaged by just a long flight, but by something far more vicious. "So messengers look for help. I find soldiers east of here, west of a mountains..."

"Twelfth Knighthood," Lavitz commented softly.

"But they say, no help. They say come here, maybe King Albert can think of help, but they say no help."

"And they're right." Albert spoke this time, his voice quiet and strained. "You're asking for our help beyond Serdio's borders." He shook his head. "The Eastern clans would not take too kindly to my doing things in their lands. You're lucky your army has escaped their notice so far."

The red avian laid his ears back, distressed. "If Phoenix's army go far south, they will take boat to the new fortress."

_Head _around_ your enemies' territories, beyond their reach, and come out within your own space. We don't dare go down to Volcano Villude to attack them and they know it._ Niira growled to herself. Things were not looking good at all.

Albert sighed softly. He had figured this out as well. "There's nothing we can do. That is the clansmen's land. If anything is to be done about this, it will have to be done by them." With that much said, the king sank back into his throne, exhausted.

The silence in the throne room was heavy. Then Lavitz spoke, his voice low. "Send for their aid," he said to King Albert. "The Eastern clans are not our allies, but they aren't out enemies either. There's an invading army on their soil, that might be enough to convince them to help us fight Phoenix."

Albert smirked. "I would, if there was any sort of a common language between us."

Lavitz looked at his king, a smile on his face. "I have a solution to that problem."

The king quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, I met this man at a bar..."


	40. The Easterner

Welcome to chapter 40! It seems like a lot...but then again, not really, considering the people around here who can write 10-page chapters with no problem (mine average about 4 pages). Oh well :). Thanks to those of you who have stuck around for this long, and to those who've given critiques and all. I really do appreciate it.

And now for a short interlude wherein we become acquainted with this man Lavitz met at the bar.

-----

"I still can't believe you think some stranger you met at a bar, of all places, could help us."

It was not the first time that day Albert had said this in some form or another. "I told you...he's not a stranger. I've known him for a long time."

"Right, right."

Lavitz couldn't tell whether the king was amused, scared, or annoyed. He couldn't see Albert's face, as he had pulled the hood of his rain cloak over his head and the fabric hid his expressions. It was hard enough to read the king's mood even when you _could_ see his face.

They walked at a slow pace through the southern streets of Bale. Albert had insisted on coming to meet Lavitz's acquaintance himself, despite the pain and exhaustion that still plagued him, and the cold rains that had not stopped since the avian messenger's arrival. He could have easily had this person summoned to Indels, but he insisted it would be nice to see a part of the city he hadn't been to in years.

Lavitz, on the other hand, was quite familiar with this area. Not only was it near his mother's house, but it was far enough away from Indels that he could find a quiet break from his job if he needed to. Relatively quiet, at any rate. He had been quick to learn in his early years as a knight that 'quiet', for him, should never involve more than a couple beers at once, and not in a public place like the bar. _And most certainly never when Soren is around. Soa above, I swear that man has no idea what the word 'quiet' even means._

Despite that, Soren was the one man he believed could now help stop the Northland army that was on its way south through the Eastern lands.

"Do I really want to know how you met this man in the first place?" Albert said softly.

The knight shrugged, even though he knew Albert couldn't see the motion. "I'm entitled to do as I wish on my days off."

"That's what worries me. But at least you get days off," he muttered. He walked with a certain stiffness that was visible even though his cloak, as he tried not to jar his still-healing wound where the Moon Scintillation had been forced into his chest. "Are you sure he'll even be here right now?"

"Yes. Will you just trust me?" He knew this was a stupid question. Of course Albert trusted him. It had always been that way.

"I do trust you. That doesn't mean I can't question you though." Albert did turn and smile at him then. It was a smile with more than a hint of mischief.

Lavitz grimaced. "Don't look at me like that."

"Oh?"

"The last time you did, you got me in trouble with my father."

"Oh...that. Well, it's a good thing your father isn't here right now, isn't it?" The king was still smiling.

Lavitz didn't answer that. _Sometimes, I just don't understand you._

Their destination now lay before them. It was a long low building, built from stone like most of the older buildings in Bale. A small brown dog was resting outside the door, pressed as close to the wall of the building as possible to avoid the rain that dripped from the sloped roof. He raised his narrow head to observe them as they approached, but was asleep again by the time they had arrive at the door.

_Well...you had _better_ be here._ Lavitz gave his rain cloak a few shakes before stepping inside. He scanned the dim room quickly. It was fairly empty, as it usually was this early in the evening. But sure enough, he saw a familiar face at the far side of the room. He started towards the man, Albert following silently.

The man realized quickly that he was being approached, and he glanced up at them from his cup. His eyes were startlingly blue, even against the dim candlelight, a trait that immediately marked him as a foreigner. Very few native Serdians had blue eyes, at least, not those of Serdian ancestry. The man recognized Lavitz immediately, but his face relaxed into an expression resembling exasperation.

"Oh," he said simply. "You again." His voice had an odd lilt to it, noticeable even with the few words he spoke.

"Yes, me again." Lavitz grabbed a couple nearby chairs, turning them to face the man. Albert gratefully sat down.

"You're not dead and visiting me as a ghost, are you?"

"No. Sorry."

"Damn." He paused to take a sip of whatever it was in his cup. Lavitz honestly didn't want to know. "Well, I guess it _has_ been proven that nothing on earth can kill you."

Lavitz only smiled. This man was one of the few people who knew exactly what had nearly claimed Lavitz's life near the beginning of the Second Dragon Campaign. Lavitz couldn't remember having told him about it, but he had still found out somehow.

"So, if you're not here to tell me you're dead..." He held up his hand, counting off the points on his fingers. "And I'm assuming you're not here to take me up on that drinking contest yet. Damn Serdian pansy," he added in a low voice. "And you're not here saying that some disaster has befallen my family...why _are_ you here?"

"Yes," Albert said to Lavitz, "I believe you now that you've known him for a long time."

The knight sat up straight in his chair, a stance he always assumed when talking business. "We're here to ask for your help."

For once, the man had nothing to say.

"I suppose introductions are an order. Your Majesty, this is Soren Gairn. Soren, King Albert of Serdio."

What kind of reaction he had been expecting from Soren, Lavitz wasn't sure. Soren was infamous for not caring who exactly a person was; not that he had no respect for authority, he just claimed to want to treat everybody equally. Whatever the case was, the foreigner merely smiled and nodded politely to Albert. "Nice to meet you. Even if a bar is a rather odd place to find the king."

"I'm aware of that," Albert replied as he pulled back his hood. He was smiling again.

"Soren is from the East," Lavitz explained. "As far as I'm aware, he's one of the only Easterners to be living in Serdio at this time."

Soren nodded. "That's probably correct. We tend to like to stay in our own lands."

"I've...come to that understanding." Albert had tried to deal with the Easterners in the past regarding possible trade routes, with no luck.

"Which also means he's probably the only person around who's fluent in both the Easterner's language and our own."

Soren was eying them curiously now.

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Albert turned to his knight.

"It didn't occur to me."

"So, what is this help you need from me?" Soren was leaned back in his chair now, but he still watched them with a unnervingly penetrating gaze. The Easterner often played the lovable idiot, but he had an intellect every bit as sharp as Albert's. "I assume this has something to do with my amazing multilingual talents."

"Indeed." The king was doing that talking now. He spoke in a low voice, partly so that no one would overhear him, and partly because he couldn't talk much louder without causing himself pain. In a few minutes, he had explained the situation regarding the invading Northland army to Soren, with a few details modified or left out entirely. Even if he was a trusted acquaintance of Lavitz, there were still certain things Soren was not entitled to be privy to.

The Easterner had listened in contemplative silence to Albert's speech. Now that the king was done talking, he continued pondering for a while. His quirky, friendly mood seemed to have disappeared. "So...what is it exactly you need me to do?"

Albert hesitated, still trying to catch his breath from the long spiel had he just given. "Would you...accompany a messenger to the Eastern clans to ask for their assistance in stopping the army?" It was not so much a question as an order.

"What? Me?" The shock on Soren's face darkened quickly. Lavitz recognized that expression...one of longing and pain. "I can't."

"Why not?" It was rare that anyone, especially a commoner, refused to obey Albert, and this perplexed him.

Soren smiled briefly, a small, noncommittal gesture. "Don't take my denial as offense. There's one thing you don't know, and that's that I'm not a citizen of Serdio. I'm only a resident here. I'm not obliged to obey you."

This was news to Lavitz, even if it did make sense to him. Foreigners residing in Serdio must apply for citizenship after a certain length of time, barring certain circumstances, such as the individual holding a political office in another country. _I've always wondered if Soren was something more than what he makes himself out to be..._

The look on Albert's face showed that he was thinking the same thing.

"Believe me, I would go back east if I could. As it is, though...it would be a bad idea. Both for me and you." He closed his eyes.

"How so?"

"I left that place because of...ah...a conflict between some of the clans." Again that pained smile. "I'll just say it was a matter of my family being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

_So he _is_ someone of political importance in the East._ Whether this was a good or bad thing, Lavitz couldn't decide. Bad for Soren, obviously.

"I see." Albert glanced at Lavitz. The king would figure out the whole situation sooner or later. His curiosity often got the better of him in situations like this.

"Besides..." The Easterner had recovered his good-natured personality once more. "I doubt you'd want a musician dealing with political affairs anyway. We're not so trustworthy. We like to embellish things, you know." He grinned.

"A musician, huh?" Albert seemed amused by this.

"What else was I supposed to do in this city?" He took another drink of whatever it was that sat next to him on the bar. "Back to the subject at hand, I'd be more than happy to translate a missive for you to give to your messenger. I suppose I'd have to do it anyway, either by my own free will or by force, seeing as I'm the only one who knows the language around here."

Albert smiled with relief. "Thank you. If there is any way I can repay you..."

"Oh yes. The next time I see you outside of Indels, you had better be ready for a damn drinking contest. And Lavitz too, it's about time I showed you Serdians who can hold their liquor best."

The king gave a nervous laugh, holding up his hands apologetically. "I think I'll have to pass on participating. That might result in something bad for my public image."

"'Something bad' will happen at least once," Lavitz commented idly.

"Am I to assume you're speaking from experience?"

"What would make you think that, Your Majesty?"

Soren snorted, turning back to face the bar. He muttered something that Lavitz didn't quite catch; from experience he knew that Soren was probably giving them some good-natured insult in his native language, and that it was still usually best if such things went untranslated.

"Tomorrow, then?" Albert stood stiffly. "Before noon, preferably. I'll have one of the servants waiting for you in the courtyard."

Soren nodded once. "I'll be there."


	41. An Unwelcome Surprise

Yay I live. Sorry for keeping everyone waiting for so long! So in return for your patience, I give you a Very Long Chapter (by my standards, anyway).

-----

Ever since she had heard the news of Phoenix's army in the East, Niira had become even more morose than ever. There was nothing she could do for anyone, and she had quickly decided that was the worst feeling in the world. Even if Albert managed to get a messenger to the Eastern clans before the army had slipped past them, there was still no guarantee that the foreigners would even be willing to assist Serdio. They could decide to be spiteful and attack the Reisch's approaching forces instead. That was political drama Niira most definitely did not want to occur.

To make everything worse, her best friend was still not recovering from his encounter with the Moon Scintillation, and Shadow Hunter refused to allow anyone in the infirmary room to see him.

Niira was beginning to loathe the half-Wingly very much. But she still stayed within Indels' grounds, hoping she would get a chance to see Coen. She never got that chance. But she did see someone else.

He walked past her one morning, taking relaxed strides as he crossed the courtyard to the infamous half-mountain that was the stairway to the castle. Niira and Alakyl watched him silently, the half-blood for once not quite so depressed as she had been recently. The man did not look like anyone she recognized who spent time in Indels. He was far too laid-back in the way he carried himself, for one.

"Wuff?" Alakyl tilted her head.

"I don't know," Niira replied. "I don't recognize him."

"Hmm. _Follow!_" The wolf suddenly bounded forward.

"Alakyl! No, it's rude--" Niira sighed. It was generally a better idea to just follow the wolf and keep her out of trouble than it was to argue with her.

Even the energetic canine could not run all the way up the stairs. She stopped halfway up, panting and gasping for breath. It was the only reason Niira was able to catch up with her. She too had to stop to rest.

"_Why..._wuff..._so far_..."

"I think...they made this...so any attacking enemies...would be too tired to fight...once they reached the top."

Alakyl did not approve of that explanation.

By the time they finally entered Indels, the strange man was nowhere to be found. Alakyl attempted to sniff around and track him, but was soon distracted by other things. Niira, on the other hand, had more success: she found her father.

The knight smiled softly when he saw her. "Where have you been all day?"

"Who was that man that just came in?"

Lavitz was silent for a beat. "I think that's the longest sentence I've heard you say in quite a while."

Niira scowled at him. "It's not my fault everything's horrible right now."

"I know. Which man were you asking about again?"

"There was a man who just came here who I've never seen before. He was pretty tall and walked like he owned the place."

"Ah." Lavitz chuckled. "That's Soren. He's an old friend of mine."

"What's he doing here?"

"I..." Lavitz glanced around, the took hold of Niira's arm and led her to a slightly less active area than the front entrance. "Well. Under normal circumstances, I couldn't tell you, but since you were there when we first heard the news..."

"He's going to be the messenger to the East?"

"No. He's just writing the message."

_It'll never get there in time. We're all going to die._

"Niira?"

"What."

"You had that look on your face."

"What look?"

At first Lavitz didn't answer. Then he shook his head. "That look people get when they realize something terrible has just happened."

"It has, though! The message won't arrive in time to stop Phoenix's army."

"You don't know that." But the tone of his voice betrayed the fact that he agreed with her.

"I don't like just sitting here waiting for things to happen. Especially when they're things like this."

"Neither do I. But we don't have much of a choice."

_Maybe we do._ There was always a choice. And when one didn't present itself, you just had to make one up. Her father had told her that once. _A messenger on even the fastest horse may only just reach his destination in time. We need something faster..._

"What's going on in that mind of yours?"

"Dragons."

The First Knight narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.

"If...some of us--dragoons, I mean--could get to the army first..."

"No, Niira."

Niira jumped slightly, startled by the hard edge to her father's words.

"That would be little better than what Phoenix is doing now. He's invaded the Easterners' land, even if he is just using it to get around Serdio. Sending dragoons is no different. _We_ would be invading, and that is not a position neither I nor Albert is willing to put this country in."

"But--"

"There's no sense in sending perfectly good warriors out to possibly die when we'll be needing all of them to fight the army that's already hiding out within Serdio's borders." Lavitz ended his tirade there, although Niira could tell he was just waiting for an excuse to go on about what a bad idea it was. He could probably come up with several dozen; after all, he had been First Knight since before Niira was born and he knew more about the strategy and politics behind the military than she could ever hope to understand.

That didn't mean that she agreed with him.

As if reading her mind, he added, "And for the love of Soa, don't you even _think_ about running off alone again to do something stupid like you did at the fort."

-----

Still, there was nothing better than riding on the back of a dragon. And at least she wasn't alone this time.

Alakyl was quick to join Niira's departure from Bale that night. And how Meru ever found out about their plan, they didn't know, but the three dragoons immediately set off for the eastern border of Serdio.

After they had distanced themselves sufficiently from Bale, they paused long enough to decide exactly which of their dragons should carry them to the east. In short order they decided on Hiranmyaku, Alakyl's vassal dragon, as he was the fastest of the three. Meru wasn't even sure if her dragon Hafkitta would appreciate having to move such a large distance on land, and Yinwulong, while fast, could not compare to Hiranmyaku. So Alakyl quickly summoned her dragon.

Niira had seen the Chaos Dragon before, but he always shocked her when he would first appear. One minute he wasn't there, and the next, his long snake-like body was curled up on the ground in front of them. Meru fell over backwards in surprise.

Stretching, the enormous dragon began to float; as he lacked wings, he used magic to support and propel himself in the air. His underside glowed like a shimmering rainbow, casting a pale light over the dragoons. Then he lowered his armored head to Alakyl to converse with her, the multiple eyes along the top of his forehead focused on her alone.

"Wuff!" Alakyl soon proclaimed. She jumped onto the back of Hiranmyaku's head, bracing herself against his thick spikes. Niira followed, although cautiously. Even though she was also a dragoon, that didn't mean other dragons automatically liked her. When Alakyl had visited her in the Northlands, they would sometimes take rides on the dragons. Hiranmyaku had thrown Niira a few times out of spite, and Niira's dragon Yinwulong had often refused to move once Alakyl was on his back.

Meru was apparently aware of dragons' fickle natures as well. "Are you sure about this?"

"Wuff! Rrr-r-r-uff!"

"She says Hiranmyaku promises to behave, since this is an important mission," Niira translated.

"Well!" Meru said, her normal bouncy mood suddenly returning. "I guess if I fall off I won't fall very far. Wingly wings and all." She jumped up onto the dragon's back.

She barely had time to grab on to a spine before Hiranmyaku was rising. With a slight jerk, he shot forward into the night.

-----

It was dawn before they realized they were no longer in Serdio. Sharp mountains rose up before them, their tops covered with scattered patches of snow. There was no sign of any army, but with the numerous deep valleys around, there were plenty of places to hide. Hiranmyaku slowed, lowering himself until he was just skimming over the surface of the mountains. It would be harder for the enemy to spot such a large dragon and have advance warning of approaching dragoons by traveling this way, but it also meant that if they happened upon Phoenix's troops they would have no chance to retreat and plan an attack.

"So..." Meru said at last. "When do you think that messenger will arrive?"

"I don't know for sure. If they're really fast and change horses often, maybe by this evening, but probably not until tonight or tomorrow morning."

"Hrr." Alakyl frowned. "Wuff?"

"What makes you think I have a plan?" Niira muttered.

"Don't you have any idea what you intend to do now?" Meru said.

"Find the army, first. Then stall them long enough for either the Reisch and his army to catch up, or for the Easterners to decide to help us."

"What if they don't want to help? Or what if they want to harm us?"

"I try not to think about that."

"Oh. How big of an army are we going to be facing?"

"I don't know, Meru." Niira sighed, exasperated. "Big enough."

"All right! Sounds great."

Niira wasn't sure if Meru was being sarcastic or just sickeningly upbeat as usual.

Hiranmyaku dove down the slope of another mountain. Still no sign of armed Northlanders. "This may take a while," Niira muttered.

-----

The darkness of the night proved to be what they needed. It was then that they saw the first hint of civilization since they had arrived--the pale light of a campfire reflecting off the high snowy slopes of the mountains. As they approached the valley, it became clear that it wasn't just one or a few campfires, but many. Enough to keep a sleeping army safe from any wild animals that might be nearby.

Hiranmyaku settled himself on a rocky ledge just on the other side of the mountain from the camp. The three dragoons hurried forward to see what they had found. Laying flat against the slope, they peered over the rocks at the scene below.

Huddled together in small circles throughout the valley were groups of smallish Northlanders--musteliforms. Scattered throughout the rat-people were larger, but less numerous, groups of Fallen. Between the sleeping soldiers and around the outside of the valley, night guards paced through the shadows. A few avians were perched on higher ground, but still well below where the dragoons were stationed. There were no Fireborn that Niira could see or sense. That was the only consolation she found.

Withdrawing to Hiranmyaku's side, they took a moment to discuss their finding. The conclusion was to do nothing. Since the enemy wasn't moving, there was no need to rush in and try to slow them down. They curled up together to get some much-needed sleep.

When Niira woke, the first thing she noticed was how cold it was. Everything seemed to have absorbed the chill of the night and that made it even colder. She slowly woke up enough to think more clearly. _Why am I so cold?_

_Hiranmyaku's gone_.

Forcing herself into full awareness, Niira grabbed her collapsed spear, ready to spring into action. Hiranmyaku's large body had been blocking the cold mountain air from the dragoons during the night, but now he was nowhere to be found. _That bastard. _Spying Alakyl, Niira crawled over to her. "Where's that dragon of yours? Why did he leave?"

The answer was a short "Shh!" from both Alakyl and Meru, who was also sitting nearby.

Lowering her voice, Niira repeated her question. "Why did Hiranmyaku leave? He was supposed to be keeping watch!"

"Wuff."

"He was," Meru added.

"Wuff!"

"Then I woke up this morning and heard something moving around. So I checked it out, y'see. Was some of those bird-guys coming up the hill. And then I looked back and the dragon was gone."

Niira just stared at her. "But...why?"

"I think he figured that if the bird-guys saw him, they'd know they have dragoons after them. But if they just see us alone, we're not as dangerous. We're just...people. And a dog."

"Wuff! Wuff says _wuff_!"

It was the most intelligent thing Niira had ever heard the Wingly say. "So where are the avians now?" she asked after she had gotten over the shock.

"Dunno."

"Wuff!" Alakyl scratched at the ground.

Following Alakyl's cue, Niira looked down into the valley again. Now that the sun was up, she had a clear view of the scene below. Avians were flying low over the army, letting out harsh cries that could be heard from where the dragoons sat. It was obviously a wake-up call, as the army was soon packing up and preparing to march once more.

Now, Niira could see the full extent of that army.

"Oh my god...there's so many..."

Thousands upon thousands. Far bigger than the Serdian army. Bigger than the Reisch's forces combined with the hyaeniforms'. More soldiers than she had ever thought possible.

She knew she was shaking, and she was fully aware of the tears in her eyes. "Where did they all come from?" Slowly she sank below the ridge of rocks, curling up on the ground. _It's impossible...there's so many...we're dead, we're all dead._ She wished that her uncle had left her in Bale that day fourteen years ago. _None of this would have ever happened to _me. _I don't want this. It's my fault, I came back to Bale and brought it all with me..._

"Hey! Niira!" Meru was shaking her arm.

"It's over," Niira said dully. "There is nothing we can do."

"Don't talk like that!"

"Wuff!"

"There's too many..."

"Come on, you're a dragoon! You _have_ to do something!"

"I can't."

"Well, what are you going to do, run back to Bale? We're here now, we have to do _something_!"

She didn't want to go back to Bale. That would mean facing her father. Not only had she run off again, but she had completely failed in her task, again.

"We can still stall them!"

Niira didn't say anything.

Meru stomped off, frustrated, flailing her arms around and making angry noises to herself. After getting it out of her system, she came back to Niira. "I can't believe yer making me do all the thinking around here! Listen, they're almost ready to move out. But right now they're still in the valley. They don't have many ways out, so they're basically trapped. If we fly down there with our dragons, we can beat 'em up good. Even if they escape, we'll still have done a lot of damage."

"You mean, even if we die."

"Whatever. Get up, we don't have much time!"

Somehow, Niira allowed herself to be pulled and pushed to her feet by her companions.

"I would've thought some of Lavitz's...you know, some of _him_ would have rubbed off on you somehow. But you're such a wuss sometimes, you know that?"

"Let me use some dragoon magic on you, then we'll see who's the wuss."

Meru grinned suddenly and spun around. "That's the spirit! Now, let's go get them rats!" As she danced around, she was enveloped with icy magic, which broke away to reveal shimmering armor and wings.

"Wuff!" Alakyl joined in with the dancing.

Niira just watched them. Then, no knowing what else to do, she called on her dragoon spirit as well. The darkness was quick to come to her; Yinwu was eager to start the impending bloodbath in the valley. The dragon was soon standing behind her, nosing her gently in the back, prodding her to get killing things already.

Hiranmyaku and Hafkitta also joined them, perching their serpentine bodies on the rocks, out of sight of the army below them. They waited patiently for their next command.

"All right!" Meru stopped her dancing. "Your turn to think of stuff to do!"

The Black Gold Dragoon thought for a few moments. _Would it be better to all come in from one direction, or spread out?_ "Okay...Alakyl, you and Hiranmyaku go to the far side of the valley. Meru, take your dragon and get across from Alakyl. I'll take the south side. I'll give you a minute to get in place, and then on my signal, we attack. Try to keep them in the north side of the valley, don't let them get any further south. We need to try to hold them here until either the Reisch can find us or the Easterners." _Any god above who cares to listen, please let the Easterners cooperate with us._

"What's yer signal?"

"Oh...um...here." Holding out her hand, palm up, Niira summoned a small ball of dark energy. She tossed it up couple feet, letting it explode, the shards falling downwards like falling stars. "When you see it explode like that. Of course it'll be much bigger and go higher so you can see it."

"Alrighty!"

"Alakyl?"

The wolf nodded her assent.

"Good. Now get to your positions."

The two dragons sped off. Yinwu took his time in reaching his spot. He found a large ridge to hide behind, resting his head between some of the rocks on top so he could observe the goings-on below. His wings were outspread, tense, and his tail lashed back and forth in anticipation.

"Just hold on for a bit longer," Niira said to him.

The army was already near the south point of the valley. It wouldn't be long before the front ranks were out of the trap. _I hope Meru and Alakyl got to their places. I'm not sure if I can wait a full minute. _Nervously, Niira waited her pre-determined minute. She didn't want to risk signaling to the others if they weren't in a place where they could see her.

Yinwu told her that a minute had surely passed by now, and he wanted some action.

"Fine. You had better be right about the minute though." Gathering a ball of magic the size of a small boulder, she shot it into the air. At the height of its arc, it exploded with a blinding light.

In the valley, she saw some of the ranks quiver. They had seen her signal as well.

"Time to fly," Niira said to her dragon.

With a deafening roar, Yinwulong heaved himself over the ridge of the mountain, wings beating to get him aloft. Then his wings folded against his flanks and he dove at the enemy. From around the valley, his war cry was echoed by the other two dragons.

Niira was close behind him. As she drew nearer to the army, it seemed less daunting, but she knew that was merely because her range of vision was growing more limited. When she was close enough, she summoned her magic, turning her dive into a spin, spear thrust forward. Dark magic surrounded her, blinding white at her spear blade, fading to a black that was darker than night as it trailed down her body.

The musteliforms dove out of her way as she rocketed toward them. But she hadn't been meaning to strike one of them. Instead, she crashed full-speed into the ground.

The resulting explosion spread outward from point of impact for a hundred feet around. The enemy soldiers nearest to her simply vaporized, while the ones further out were thrown from the area, covered with wounds varying from mere scratches to missing limbs.

That maneuver had cost her quite a bit of energy. Flying out of her crater, unscathed, Niira moved up until she was beyond the reach of arrows and most attacks that the Fallen magicians could throw at her, so she could think.

Yinwulong was hovering above one side of the valley, his tail arched above his head, the cannon on its end pointed at the army. He released a devastating dark beam, then flew to another point from which to wreak his havoc. From somewhere behind Niira came a rolling sheet of ice, from Meru or her dragon. Alakyl was flying with Hiranmyaku as he sought a new target.

The army was in chaos. Already, hundreds of the soldiers were dead or injured. But it seemed that whenever ten of the enemy was killed, a hundred more would rush in to take their place. Even though the dragoons' surprise attack seemed to have done its purpose, Phoenix's troops were quickly falling back on their training. They were beginning to form groups around individual magicians.

That was not a good sign. While the magicians' power could not compare to that of the dragon warriors, they had enough skill to be able to repel some dragoon magic, if not completely block it. And their attacks could do damage and drain spirit energy faster than had been planned.

As if noticing this, Hiranmyaku went for several of the magicians, swinging his long spiked tail at them to distract them from working their spells.

Niira lunged with her spear at an avian who dared to come too close. It fell without resistance. _Now what? We need to do as much damage as possible..._ Calling every last bit of energy she had, she dove and spun again. The enemy was more prepared for the move this time, but she was still able to take out many of them. However, she had sacrificed her dragoon energy, and as she climbed out of her crater, her black armor faded away.

The army was on her like a wildfire. She didn't have time to think. They came at her from all sides, all trying to get a piece of her all at once. _Well...it shouldn't take me too long to regain my wings at this rate._

She jumped up on a boulder, daring the soldiers to try to come after her. A few arrows hissed past her, one clipping her shoulder. She tried to ignore the sudden pain.

From somewhere nearby came Hiranmyaku's roar. It wasn't a sound of defiant challenge, but rather one of panic. Niira glanced briefly in the direction of the sound. The thick loops of the dragon's body arched above the ground, thrashing about. He roared again, obviously calling for help. And then Niira saw why: The soldiers were using rope to tie him to the ground, throwing the coils over his body, around his spines, holding the rope down with rocks or large metal spikes sunk into the ground.

"_No!_" Niira leapt from her rock, intending to reach the dragon. Everywhere, the soldiers stopped her, forcing her back with their sharp blades and claws. Not knowing what else to do, she once again transformed into her dragoon armor, despite her energy not being fully recharged. Winging her way over the horde, she landed near Hiranmyaku's head. "Hold on!" she shouted to him.

Alakyl, armor-less, was running up and down the length of her dragon, biting back any who dared to come too near. Her efforts were futile; as soon as she left one spot, the soldiers would just come back. The rope was too thick and too weighted down for the wolf to remove, and she couldn't just send Hiranmyaku away, because he wasn't able to get away due to the ropes. He was too panicked to listen to even his master anyway.

Niira swiped at one of the ropes with her spear. It came loose, and the dragon strained against his restraints. Taking to the air again, Niira sped along his side, spear lowered to catch the ropes. They sprung free, snapping back with enough force to send a grown man sprawling. As she reached his tail tip, her dragoon energy once again gave out, and she was left standing on the battlefield.

Hiranmyaku, not quite understanding that he was free now, was still in a state of blind terror, and whipped his tail to the side. He caught Niira in her stomach, sending her flying up onto the rocky slope of the mountain.

She almost lost her grip on her spear, it was that sudden. She was on the ground next to the dragon one moment, the next, she was against the rocks, feeling as if she had just been crushed to death. She wasn't sure if she could move any more. She wasn't sure that she would want to. The soldiers must have thought her to be dead, as none came up after her. Or maybe they were still concentrating on the wild Hiranmyaku.

She could barely hear the battle from where she was. She wasn't sure if here eyes were opened or closed. Whatever the case was, the world was black. Her ribcage felt oddly soft whenever she tried to breathe, her shoulder didn't seem to be in the right place. Nothing felt right. _But it doesn't hurt, really. I know it hurts but I don't feel it. It's all...black. Dark. Nothing._ Somehow that was comforting to her, like a blanket. She snuggled in it.

-----

Everything was still dark. But a different kind of dark. Twilight-dark.

Things were slowly coming into focus, and she didn't like it.

She thought she heard people's voices, but it was hard to tell. Something smooth and warm touched her lips as fingers touched her throat. She understood that well enough, even in her state of half-consciousness. _Drink. _She drank it.

It didn't have any taste that she could remember. But suddenly, everything hurt in crystal clarity. She mewled in distress, her voice sounding hoarse and distant to her own ears, and she tried to move. She tried to claw at the pain under her skin, but her arms wouldn't respond.

She felt a heat within her like a fire. It consumed her, surrounded her, flames shooting to the sky. A monster within the flames. "No, Uncle! I won't let you take me this time!" The fire monster turned around to face her. Its armor was black, not red. "You're dead, Black Monster. The Moon Child is no more." Its eyes gleamed angrily in response. Its face was her own, golden fur with blue-gray markings, or maybe it was avian, flaming feathers like a phoenix.

Someone was talking again, holding her down. The fires died, but she still hurt. She tried to claw away the pain again. This time, her arms did obey, but her restraints were too strong. She wriggled, her pain accentuated with every move she made.

Eventually she gave up on that. Again, the glass was put to her mouth, the hand touched her throat. Again she drank. Again, the pain, although not nearly as bad as the first time. The fire returned, but only as embers.

When the pain had passed and only aches remained, she dared to open her eyes. The light was dim, or maybe it was just her. There were people huddled around her. One leaned over her, his form black against the darkening sky. He said something. Not understanding, Niira tried to focus on him. Slowly, his features came into view. He had dark hair and wore a fur-edged sash that was covered with various pins and medallions. He repeated his question. Niira still didn't understand.

He disappeared for a moment, then returned with another glass, which he offered to her. Niira felt her human face twitch into a snarl. She wouldn't be taking any more of that pain-inducing liquid. The man shook his head. "Water," he said, although the single word was spoken through an odd, heavy accent that Niira had never heard before.

She decided that water would be good, and drank from the glass.

"Are you..." the man continued slowly, as if unsure of what to say, "Serdian?"

After swallowing the water, she found she could speak, although only softly. "Yes."

He smiled. "You think you need invite us to war?"

Niira closed her eyes in relief.

-----

Meru, Alakyl, and the three dragons had managed to keep the army in the valley, although they had long ago given up fighting. Each side retreated to nurse its wounds, but neither dared to move. The Northlanders were now prepared for the dragoons' attack and could possibly overcome the exhausted warriors and their beasts easily due to their sheer numbers. Around the valley, the dragons and their partners waited for any soldiers who tried to leave the area. Those who did were quickly killed.

So neither side had moved for several hours. Something about that sounded odd to Niira.

Now that the Easterners had arrived, it looked as if battle could begin again at any moment. Niira didn't need to understand their language to see that the clansmen were ready for a fight. Every single man was armed to the teeth with blades and shields, and she was sure that they had more hidden weapons under their clothing. For now, they seemed to be waiting for what the dragoons would do before charging into the valley. Niira was beginning to wonder if they were afraid of the dragons, and that they were just beasts who wouldn't know friend from foe.

Her thoughts were confirmed when Meru and Hafkitta arrived at the camp. The dragon perched above the men on an outcrop, her fins clamped against her sides in pain. The Easterners gave her wide berth, drawing their weapons if they had to walk under her, as if she was just waiting to pounce on them.

Meru had run to Niira as soon as she could. Though Niira could now sit up, it was clear to her that she would be of no more use in this battle. Meru crouched next to her. "What happened to you? We were looking and looking and we couldn't find you and we just had to keep fighting--"

The Wingly's chatter hurt Niira's head. "Hiranmyaku got me with his tail."

"Oh. Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?"

"Not really."

"Lionn found me. He's one of the clan chiefs I think. He's in charge of this army, whatever he is."

"Oh. So if they're here, what are they waiting for?"

"I don't know. Maybe they're afraid of the dragons."

"Ah, well, Alakyl will be here soon. Why don't you call your dragon over?"

Niira closed her eyes, focusing her thoughts at her black dragoon spirit. Then she shuddered, the effort of summoning her dragon too much for her. "I can't."

"Maybe he'll follow Alakyl."

"I don't know." Niira allowed herself to relax and rest a few moments.

"I think the rat-people were going to settle down for the night anyway."

"Good."

"Do you think the Easterners could take over the watch for tonight? I'm beat."

"What don't you ask them?"

"But...they speak...Easternish."

Niira sighed. "Go find Lionn. He's got a big fancy sash with lots of medals on it."

"Okay!" Meru bounded away to do so.

Niira was asleep a few moments later.

-----

In the morning, she felt better. She was able to eat something that Lionn gave her, although she wasn't quite sure what it was. Almost as soon as she had finished, the Easterners ran into the valley with raucous shouts and battle cries, leaving her alone in her makeshift bed.

She knew the clan army that had met them here was only a small fraction of all the soldiers in these lands, from her conversations with Lionn. She wasn't sure why more hadn't been sent. _Any help is good help, I guess._ It gave her a chance to rest and heal, at any rate.

It couldn't have been much more than a half hour later when she heard a different sound. Feliforms. Her own people. She tried to pull herself up to the mountain ridge to have a look, but she only got so far before she was tired again. In desperation, she called Yinwu away from the battle. The dragon grumpily obliged, banking to fly to her.

When he was laying down on the ground next to her, Niira wrapped her arms around the base of his neck as far as she could reach. Yinwu stood, swinging her up onto his back, and lifted into the air. Niira winced from the movement, but at least she could see what was going on now.

On the north side of the valley, another army was sweeping in. Not Phoenix's soldiers. Feliforms, some mounted on gryffs. Avians. Even hyaeniforms. The Reisch's army.

Niira hugged her dragon, crying with joy. "Let's go see the Reisch," she said to him.

Yinwu sailed over the valley, far above the battle raging below. He turned to skim over the new army coming down the mountainside. Spying his target, he turned around and headed for a high spot on the mountain.

There, the Reisch sat astride his gryff. He smiled at Niira and Yinwu as they landed nearby. "I was wondering if you had made it to Endiness safely," he said to her, his whiskers bristled out in the smile.

"You're missing out on the action down below," Niira replied. She was still sitting on Yinwu's shoulder, as she wasn't sure if she'd be able to stand if she got down.

The Reisch shrugged, the movement making his red-brown mane ripple. "It looks like I'll still have plenty of action left when I get down there. But that's not really my job, now is it?" As the Reisch, he held the position of commanding the forces loyal to Serpent Mother. He was one of the most brilliant strategists the Northlands had ever seen. Instead of learning how to fight with a sword when he was young, he had learned to fight with his mind. It more than made up for the gimp leg he had since his birth that prevented him from doing much fighting. He still knew how to wield a sword with deadly efficiency, he just had to do it from the back of a gryff.

It was that trait, his determination to succeed, that Niira liked about him. Though she saw him rarely, it was always a happy meeting.

Although today was different.

"Who are the humans down there?" the Reisch was asking.

"They're the natives of this land. They're with us, don't worry."

"I see. Well, I will talk with you some more later. Work to do." Without waiting for her to reply, he whistled to his gryff. The beast jumped forward, charging down the slope.

"We should get back to the camp," Niira said to Yinwu. The dragon whuffled and opened his wings. Higher and higher they rose, giving them a spectacular view of the mountains to the north.

Yinwu snorted. He smelled something, he said.

Niira allowed him to fly toward the smell. There wasn't much they could do for the battle anyway. Without Niira to control him, Yinwu could very well hurt as much as he helped.

A couple ridges north, the dragon stopped, hovering. There was another army moving southward, to the scene of battle. It was moving quickly. _Very_ quickly.

Niira's blood froze. The soldiers carried the emblem of Phoenix. "No..." _No...how can this be?_

As the army came down the slope of a mountain, she began to get an idea of its size. She had thought the army in the valley was huge. This one was bigger. Twice as big, five times, ten times...she couldn't tell exactly. The soldiers kept coming, flooding over the slopes, never ending.

Not even Yinwu had anything to say.

Quickly, Niira turned her dragon around, hurrying him back to the battle. If the Reisch's army _and_ the Easterners were caught here, the resistance to Phoenix would effectively end. The dragoons may still remain, but even they would have difficulty getting through this unmeasurable army. The Serdian army would stand no chance at all; the combined armies of all the human kingdoms wouldn't do much better.

Yinwu sped into the valley, sending a telepathic message about the situation to the other dragons. Niira found Lionn; guiding Yinwu to him, she leaned over and shouted "Get out! It's a trap!"

Lionn looked from her to her dragon, unsure of what to do.

"There's another army coming! Retreat!"

He understood that. Nodding, he shouted to his men in the Eastern tongue.

Yinwu was already looking for the Reisch. He was easier to find, as he was on the outskirts of the battle. "Back again already?" he called to Niira.

"We have to get out of here!"

"What? Why?"

"Phoenix sent another army. This one was just a lure, the other one is the real thing and if we don't get out of here soon they're going to have us trapped!"

The Reisch stared at her. "That's impossible."

"That's what I thought too."

"How big is this army?"

"I don't know. Huge. Way bigger than this one."

The feliform did not like that. "How far away are they?"

"About two ridges over, when we were up there." Niira pointed to the northern rim of the valley.

"Damn." The Reisch was muttering to himself. For him to have not seen this as a trap, and not to have have noticed an army sneaking up on his rear, was a terrible mistake beyond compare. He urged his gryff forward, sounding a retreat to his troops.

Yinwu turned skyward again, asking Niira where they should go now.

"There's not much more we can do here...we'll be destroyed." She clung tightly to his neck. "We need to get back to Bale."

The dragon made a snide comment about how pleased Niira's father would be to hear _this_ news.

"Shut up. Just tell the others."

Yinwu did so, and announced that Meru and Hafkitta would stay behind to protect the Reisch's army and Lionn's men on their way to Bale. Alakyl would be following Niira, as it was far too dangerous for her to stay here.

"Too dangerous? Why is it any more dangerous for her than the rest of us?"

Yinwu gave a low growl, his was of expressing a shrug. He often did that not because he didn't know the answer to a question, but because he simply didn't want to tell Niira. He ignored her repeated pleas to reveal the answer, instead focusing on flying back to Bale.


	42. Returning

The dragoons were together once more.

He narrowed his burning eyes. He had expected they would reunite, but this soon? No matter. His armies would soon arrive, and then the defeat of Serpent Mother would be accomplished.

_I may have lost the Seventh, I may have failed to get Alakyl, and I may have failed to destroy the human king, but I still have my claws within the dragoons. I need only to twist, and they will fall apart._

-----

Albert had taken to walking around Indels in the late evenings now that he was well enough to move without significant pain. He hadn't realized he had grown so weak during his illness, and he intended to rectify that situation. While he was still weeks away from being able to wield his spear once more, he could now at least keep up with his children, even allow his son Aricin to ride on his shoulders for brief periods. He was not strong enough to carry Diandra yet. That irritated the princess to no end, and she was very vocal in letting her father know so.

At this time of night, it was now well past the children's bedtimes. Emille was with them, and most of the nobles had also retired to their homes for the night, so Indels Schloss was quiet. Albert's footsteps echoed softly in the stone stairway. Stairs had proven to be quite a problem for him, as Indels was full of them, but in the past weeks he was better able to climb them without ending up gasping for breath, or in serious pain. His chest still throbbed tonight as he walked up the steps, but it was a dull sensation. He still paused to rest when he reached the top though. _Better to not take chances. I don't want this to hurt any longer than it must._

There was a chill draft in the hallway. _Who left the balcony doors open at this time of night?_ Frowning slightly, Albert pulled his cloak around himself and set out to investigate. If there was one thing that still made him ache more than anything, it was the cold. Normally, he enjoyed having the windows open slightly at night. It kept the palace from becoming too stuffy and, if the weather was not too inclement, put enough of an edge in the air that he would have ample reason to use his favorite warm blankets.

He approached the balcony doors slowly, reaching out a hand to steady himself. The nights were getting very cold indeed now, and the sudden shock of a breath of the icy air had made him stagger.

"Albert? I mean, Your Majesty? Er..." This was accompanied by a low, frustrated growl in the Northland language.

"Reezy? Is that you?" None of the balcony lights were lit, and Albert couldn't quite make out the dark shape by the railing.

"Yes. You're looking better tonight."

"I felt better until I realized how cold the weather's become." _If only poor Coen was doing so well as to even know what the weather was like..._ The king made his way to the Northlander's side. "I wasn't expecting you to be up here."

Reezy nervously scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, well, er...I don't mean to be sneaking around where I shouldn't..."

"You know you're welcome in Indels. This isn't a private balcony. Though I must say that you're here later than most."

"Yeah, I know." He gave a small smile. "I just...heh...I needed a place to meditate, and it's very peaceful up here."

Albert said nothing in response. His chest was starting to burn again. He only nodded as he looked out across Bale. It really was a beautiful city, in its own way. Wood, stone, wrought iron...

"I couldn't meditate anywhere else, with Lavitz carrying on the way he is. He's scary when he's mad."

"I know." The king smirked. "He's a lot like his father in that respect." _He's more like Servi than he realizes. In fact, if Lavitz had a beard, the resemblance would be nearly perfect._

"My dad's like that too, only he usually goes out and kills a _nemstok_ to get it out before he scares us too much."

The significance of a 'nemstok' was lost on Albert. He was too tired to ask about it, at any rate.

Reezy's head suddenly turned to face east, his attention focused there alone.

"What is it?" Albert asked, even though the cold air was making his voice hoarse.

"I sense..." He was silent for a moment. "Dragons."

"Whose dragons?" His interest piqued, Albert leaned forward over the railing slightly, trying to see what Reezy was talking about.

"I don't know...um...wait." He had closed his eyes. "Alakyl's dragon. And Niira's."

"Are they all right? Where's Meru?"

"I don't feel Meru, but I'm not used to sensing for her either. I think they're fine...no...Niira's hurt."

"How badly?"

"Bad enough that I can feel it."

Albert could just make it out now, two shapes in the distant sky. A large, dark, winged dragon, and a glowing snake-like dragon. They were approaching quickly. "I must have Lavitz notified. As much as I fear what he'll do to Niira." Wrapping his cloak around himself once more, he hurried as fast as he could back to the doorway.

Then he heard Reezy comment, very softly, "Oh no."

"What?" Albert looked back at him.

Reezy returned the gaze, his eyes wide and shining in the light that spilled out from the hallway. "He found her."

-----

He had just finished having dinner with his mother when he heard Kitty hooting in the stables. It was a sound he understood to mean that the gryff had seen something of interest, which nowadays usually meant someone was approaching the front door. The early warning he gave was perhaps the one good thing that had come of moving the beast from the forest to the stables for the winter. No matter what Niira said, Lavitz did not trust an animal with a beak strong enough to bite off his arm.

Sure enough, there soon came a knocking from the front door. Lavitz sighed, stopping halfway up the stairs. "I'll get it, mom," he called. He trudged back down to the ground floor, walking past the dining room on his way to the door.

"Who is it?" Maeja asked from the kitchen.

"I don't know yet," Lavitz said, trying to hide the exasperation in his voice. He reached up to throw back the lock on the door, then pulled it open.

Happy Tail stood on the front step, hopping from foot to foot, his feathers ruffled up in an effort to stay warm.

"What are you doing here?" Lavitz hated it enough when the bird disturbed him during the day, but at home? At his _mother's_ home?

"S-sorry," the avian muttered. "Albert sent me."

The knight merely grunted in response, moving aside so Happy Tail could come in out of the cold.

"He says, he says..." The bird was still shivering. "Reezy says..."

"What, already?"

"Dragons comin' back from the East."

_About time. Oh Niira, you are going to wish you were never--_

"They're gonna be here in a couple minutes or so."

"Where?" Lavitz was already putting on his coat.

"I don't know, the eastern gate?"

Lavitz stormed out the front door, past the well in the center of Slambert Square. His mind was full of a thousand raging thoughts as he headed for the far gate. _I don't care if she _is_ an adult now. How _dare_ she run off like that._

The Jade Dragoon Spirit buzzed against his skin. Fight now? it seemed to ask.

-----

He arrived at the eastern gate shortly after the returning dragoons. It was then that he hesitated. Alakyl was walking alongside Niira, who took very slow, deliberate steps, obviously in pain. She was leaning against a dragon for support.

Lavitz didn't recognize the dragon. It was small, for a dragon, with four narrow wings folded back against its golden flanks; its neck was covered in a thick, terrifying mane of bristling red spines. Magic positively rolled off of the beast. Fire magic.

Although the question of who controlled this dragon was a pressing one, even more so was Niira herself. Lavitz hurried to her, taking her by the shoulders so that she was no longer leaning against the dragon. "Niira, what were you thinking?" he hissed. "I _told_ you not to go running off like that!"

She didn't look at him. She didn't say anything. She just stood, allowing her father to support her.

"What happened? Are you hurt?"

Again no answer. Her blonde hair fell wildly across her face, but it couldn't hide the look of blank hopelessness in her eyes.

That _look_. It scared Lavitz enough to make him forget his anger toward her. "Niira, what's wrong?" he asked softly.

"Wuff," Alakyl commented in a low voice.

"I must say, I hadn't realized Bale was such an impressive city the last time I was here."

Lavitz glanced up, beyond his daughter. Standing back in the darkness was a man in thick leather armor. Even in the dim light, Lavitz could see that his hair was pulled back to expose his face. The features were not Serdian at all, with the high cheekbones. It was hard to make out more than that, as the man had a short beard that covered his jaw line.

For some reason, the man reminded Lavitz of his late wife. Warnings were going off in his mind.

"Although, I must admit..." The man was still talking in that chilling voice of his. "I had set fire to most of this city fourteen years ago. That hardly makes for good sightseeing."

Lavitz's stomach had twisted into a cold knot. He helped Niira lean against the golden dragon again. "You." He stalked to the strange man. "_You_..." He was shaking in his rage, and couldn't even begin to get his thoughts in order. _You, my wife's brother. You took away the most precious thing in my world. You destroyed my life._

The man stared back, hardly disgruntled by the First Knight. If anything, he was amused. "Yes?" When Lavitz wasn't able to respond, he continued. "Yes, I am the one called Shining Claw. I presume that you are Lavitz. Am I correct in this assumption?"

"Don't mock me," Lavitz growled. _If only I had my spear with me right now._

Shining Claw shrugged.

The knight was finally able to get his thoughts in a coherent state again. He spoke slowly and deliberately to Shining Claw. "If you _ever_ come near my daughter again..."

"What'll you do, knight? You won't hurt me."

"What makes you think that?"

"You are a dragoon." Shining Claw held up a hand to silence Lavitz. "Nobody told me. I can sense it. As you are a dragoon, you know how important it is that our entire group is together. You won't hurt me because, no matter how much you dislike it, I am one of Serpent Mother's dragoons. I am needed."

Again Lavitz's dragoon spirit called to him. Fight, kill, it said.

"You know this is true."

"Don't assume so much," Lavitz said. "I don't care who or what you are."

"Really."

"You so much as _look_ at Niira wrong, and I swear to Soa above I will do everything in my power to hurt you."

"I'd like to see you try."

"You keep this up, and you'll get that chance."

Shining Claw smirked.

-----

"_No! No! No! No!_"

Alakyl was thrown backwards by the collision of the two dragoons. When she was finally able to get on her feet again, Lavitz and Shining Claw were far above her, their wings of light shimmering in the darkness. Anesh, Shining Claw's dragon, watched with fascination, but made no move to help his master. Alakyl knew Shining Claw well enough to know why: The dragoon did not need his dragon in order to inflict serious damage on Lavitz. She knew what the outcome of this duel would be, and that it was only really a matter of how many blows Lavitz could land before he was bested.

Despite her exhaustion from the earlier battle, Alakyl summoned her dragoon powers, her wings spreading out from her shoulders. "_No!_" she shouted again. She barked once, the sound amplified by magic, rippling the air as it rushed for the battling dragoons. It burst upon them in a shower of rainbow sparks. From her vantage, Alakyl could see them shudder from the impact, then fall from the sky. They were able to catch themselves mere feet from impact with the ground.

Alakyl took the opportunity to launch herself at Lavitz, who was the closest. Her paws connected with his thick breastplate, and she pushed him downwards. "_No! Stop!_"

Something struck her in her back, filling her veins with pain like a living fire. Arching back, yelping, she fell to the ground. Lavitz and Shining Claw then ignored her, once again rushing for each other in a blur of magic and glowing wings.

Niira was sitting under Anesh, her knees drawn to her chest. She had her hands clamped tightly over her ears, eyes squeezed shut. And she was screaming, like a terrified child. It was a loud, unearthly sound that echoed around in the still cold air.

Alakyl was still shaking from the magic attack she had suffered when the ground next to her burst into flame. She struggled to her feet and quickly stomped the flames into the dirt before they could spread. _No more burning the city!_

The sky above her was suddenly filled with dragoons. They forced the two battlers to the ground, although it took significant effort to do so. Kongol and Guilao had Shining Claw, who still looked nonplussed about the whole thing, as if he was allowing the two huge dragoons to hold him back simply for show. Lavitz was restrained by Haschel, Ereil, and Heja...and he did not like it one bit. Despite not being able to move now, he was still attempting to harm his opponent. His face was twisted in rage, eyes glowing green from the sheer effort of trying to pull enough magic together to attack Shining Claw.

Alakyl had never seen a dragoon _that_ angry before. She too hid underneath Anesh, frightened of the Jade Dragoon, her wings folded tightly against her sides in a submissive stance. Niira was no longer screaming, but now whimpering like a lost puppy.

Heja had turned her head back to shout at Shining Claw in the Northland language. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! He is an ally!"

"He started it," Shining Claw replied calmly. "For no reason at all."

There was a brief pause as Guilao translated this for Kongol, who had appeared very confused by the short exchange. "Lie!" the Giganto thundered once he understood the situation. "Lavitz never fight without reason!"

Lavitz was too far gone in his ire to realize he was being talked about. He strained against the other dragoons, actually managing to move forward a few steps. "Let go of me!" he snarled.

"Lavitz, get a hold of yourself!" Haschel cried. "Don't make me punch you again!"

The broad wings of the Jade Dragoon beat a few times. "Son of a bitch..." he growled.

"Come on, pull yourself together! You died the last time you were like this!"

Alakyl noticed Lavitz falter briefly in his struggles at Haschel's last words. But the effect was short-lived, and he picked up his attempts to escape with a new vengeance. _Crazy_, Alakyl thought to herself. _Love something that much, that you would die for it and not care if your death serves no purpose._

Shining Claw shrugged off his captors. "He sure is touchy, isn't he?"

All of the dragoons glared at him. Lavitz was finally starting to calm down, but he still had Shining Claw fixed in his icy gaze.

Haschel slowly released his hold on Lavitz's arm. "All right. You two aren't going to go at it again, are you?"

"I'm not promising that," Lavitz said.

Shining Claw shrugged. "Suit yourself."

The violet-clad dragoon scowled. "Well we certainly can't have you duking it out in Bale."

"It doesn't matter where," Lavitz muttered.

Haschel turned to his old friend. "What is your issue with...whoever this is, anyway?"

"He's the one who burned down Bale fourteen years ago in order to kidnap my daughter."

"I see."

"Your king will not be pleased to know Shining Claw is here then," Heja said.

"I don't think Serpent Mother will appreciate hearing about her dragoon doing things like kidnapping and committing arson, either," Ereil stated.

Shining Claw chuckled. "She knows," he said in a low voice, though no one heard him. Except Alakyl. She growled softly.

_What did you do to make her accept your behavior? I will hurt you. No, me and Lavitz. We will hurt you._

"You will leave," Haschel said to Shining Claw. "Now. You will not set foot in Bale again, ever."

"By whose command?"

"If you really want to speak to King Albert about your crimes, I'm sure he'd be happy to give you a harsher sentence."

Shining Claw shook his head, smiling. "There's no point. Such threats mean little to me. I will come and go in this city as I please. But if you wish, I will stay away from the knight. Even if such exercises as these are amusing, they serve no purpose."

"They serve the purpose of me hu--" Lavitz was pounced on by his restrainers again.

Putting aside her fear of the irate Jade Dragoon, Alakyl stepped out from under Anesh. Shedding her armor, she walked over to Shining Claw, tilting her head up so she could look him in the eye. "Wuff."

"You think you of all people could stop me from doing as I please?" He looked down at her over the curve of the clear green stone set in his breastplate.

She narrowed her eyes. "_You know very well what I can do._" She paused for effect. "_You stay away from the city._"

With a snort, Shining Claw turned and stalked off into the night, as if that had been his plan all along. His dragoon armor disappeared like red smoke as he called Anesh to his side.

"Albert is going to love hearing about this," Haschel said.

"Wuff," Alakyl agreed.

-----

_"Niira, this way!'_

_Running, running, running... Blinding heat, choking ashes, flames that seared his skin. The fires seemed to reach to the sky. Somewhere nearby, a wooden beam fell down, sending out a shower of sparks. He caught some of them on his bare arm. The pain was immediate, the feeling of skin being burned away. But he couldn't stop. They had to get out._

_Trapped. Burning building ahead. Burning debris to either side. Must turn around and go back. She was coughing, standing close to him, afraid. He was afraid too, but he had to get them out of there. "Come on!" He grabbed her arm, ran back the way they had come. Somewhere along the way, he let go. They continued to run. And then he realized that she was no longer behind him. Panic. He turned around again, looking for her._

_It was waiting._

_Mane tossed about by the heat of the flames, wings arched and flashing in the light. In on hand he grasped Niira's arm, holding her off the ground at an odd angle. She writhed, squealing in fear._

_"Niira! No!" He ran for her. He had to rescue her from the monster._

_It glared at him through fiery eyes, growling softly. Then it lifted up its free hand, as if to strike the boy who ran at him._

_The pain. He was forcefully thrown backwards, though the creature's hand had not touched him. He landed in a pile of burning slats. Something crackled around him, lightning bolts of fire. Pain._

_The monster stared at him for a moment. It beat its powerful wings once, rising into the air. And then it was gone, taking Niira with it._

_Stumbling forward. Calling her name, knowing she wouldn't answer. Things were blurry now. Sights, sounds, thoughts. Where am I?_

_Someone standing in front of him. A knight. He recognized the face, but whose was it? He was being picked up...carried...nothing..._

He couldn't shake the dream. _It was so real... _He hadn't dreamed about that night so vividly since...ever. _What's going on?_

He was shivering, covered in a cold sweat. Slowly, carefully, painfully, he sat up. His side was throbbing, sending jolts of torture through him. _How long has it been now?_

_I've been awake three days and already this place is driving me crazy._ He didn't care what Shadow Hunter said, he had to get out. Away from this place of sickness and nightmares. Away from Indels and the dragoons who currently resided there. Every time one walked in the vicinity--he still wasn't sure what constituted the 'vicinity'--the wound in his side would burn in response to the dragoon spirit they carried. Though it was hurting less with time, it was still an extremely unpleasant feeling, and what had actually woken him from his comatose state.

He had awoken three nights ago to piercing pain like nothing he had ever known, pain so horrific he had screamed and screamed until he was hoarse. It was the only thing he _could_ do. Nothing Shadow Hunter had done had helped. It had just eventually stopped on his own.

He had later found out that two dragoons had been fighting in the city, and he had actually alerted the others to the situation.

_I can...feel magic now. Gods, why? I don't want to be an early warning system._

Moving carefully so as not to pull his wound open again, he slipped on a loose shirt. _I have to get out of here. I can't take it any more._ _This place is cursed. _Taking a quick look around his infirmary room, he didn't see any more clothes. _Of course not. They expect me to stay in here._ Grabbing all the blankets he could find, he stood--_gods above, stop the pain_--and wrapped them all around himself, then limped slowly out of his room.

_Let Shadow Hunter say her worst when I get back. I have to get away for now._

-----

To the west of Indels, across the river, at the top of a hill, was the rock. He had come here often as a child. It was quiet, and the stars were easily visible away from the lights of the city. The rock stuck out of the ground at an angle, perfect to lay on in order to view the stars. Or one could sit on the ground on the far side of the rock, and lean back against it, which offered a view of the landscape to the west.

The cold bit at his face, and his side felt like it was splitting open, but still he kept walking. He had come this far. It wouldn't make sense to turn back now.

He felt that stabbing pain again. The same kind he had felt when the dragoons were fighting, what he felt whenever one walked nearby. He paused, wincing, waiting and hoping for it to go away. Thankfully, it did dull after a while, and he continued walking to the rock.

"Coen?" He couldn't see who had stood up from a seat on the far side of the rock, but he knew the voice.

"Niira?" he asked quietly. _So that's why I was hurting._ "What are you doing out here?" He had to keep his voice low, as he couldn't take deep enough breaths to speak louder. But the night air carried the small sound well.

She ignored his question. "Oh god...Coen..." She ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck, nuzzling her face against his shoulder. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Her embrace caused a sudden shift in balance, and immediately his painful cramps shot up his side. He drew his breath in sharply.

"Oh...I forgot. I'm sorry." She stepped back.

"You just caught me off guard, that's all."

"Well...come on. Let's sit together."

"I'm surprised you still remember this place."

"How could I forget? We came here all the time." She had walked back to her spot and motioned for him to join her.

Coen hesitated.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just afraid that once I get down, I'll never be able to stand up again." _Not to mention getting back to the infirmary. I'm not going to have the unicorn-man carry me around again._

"I'll help you."

He still hesitated for a moment. Then he joined Niira. He hasn't realized even just sitting down would be so arduous. Wincing, he braced himself against the rock. Even with Niira's assistance, it took a while for him to get down to the ground. When he was settled, he pulled his blankets around himself once more, closing his eyes as he concentrated on not shaking so damn much.

They sat in silence for a while. Niira eventually wormed her way under the blankets as well.

"I heard you had quite an adventure," Coen said.

"Really." It was said dully.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing I want to talk about."

_Why won't you tell me things any more?_ He seethed inwardly. But that took too much energy, and he was soon calm again. "It has to do with the dragoons fighting the other night, doesn't it?"

She didn't answer.

"So what happened in the East?"

"Meru, Alakyl, and I went to stop Phoenix's army."

"How did that go?"

"Hard to tell." It sounded pretty negative to Coen. "I don't know, you'd have to ask one of them. I was out for most of the battle."

"Sounds like me," Coen muttered to himself. _Like during one of the first battles I ever fought, when I got an arrow in my shoulder. I thought I was going to die and made such a fuss about it that I was no good for the rest of the battle. Radulf had to explain to me that no, an arrow in the shoulder will not usually kill you..._

Niira was still talking. "The clan leader made me drink some healing potion, and I hallucinated pretty bad."

"Really?"

"Yes. Why, don't you?"

"No. Very few people react like that to ingesting that stuff."

"Oh..." She looked to the ground.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised though." Coen paused to catch his breath. He hadn't talked this much in...he didn't know how long. "Must run in the family. Sir Lavitz is the same way."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. It's part of the reason why he hates the field doctors so much. From what I've heard, his father was like that too..."

"I didn't know that."

"It's funny what we can learn about people we thought we knew." He knew he sounded bitter as he said that.

The silence that followed was a very awkward one indeed. Niira shifted slightly, trying to steal more of the blankets. "I heard about what happened with your father," she said at last, in a very quiet tone.

Coen's mind froze. _I was down in the infirmary for gods know how long. The prisons are two floors below that. My father...is down there..._ "Who told you?"

"My father. I asked him."

"Why?" _Why would anyone want to know about that?_

"You said something to Albert when we got back to Indels."

"I don't remember saying anything to him."

"You weren't exactly lucid at the time."

Coen simply stared at the cold ground. _Gods, she must hate me. She knows. She knows it all...doesn't she?_ He brooded over this for a few minutes. "He didn't tell you what happened at the cliffs, did he?" _Why...why did I say that? Stupid, stupid..._

"No, he didn't mention any cliffs. Why?"

"Oh." _Only he and King Albert and Radulf know. That's enough...I hate that even they know. But you are my friend, my best and oldest friend. You deserve to know the truth. But I don't want to tell it...I don't...I need to though...you deserve to know... _"You know the cliffs northeast of here? The ones that overlook the river?"

She thought for a moment. "Vaguely."

"I...I used to spend a lot of time there. It's very quiet, and alone. No noise. It's a beautiful view. The canyon's really wide. And deep. Very deep. I would stand at the top and not have any thoughts or worries..." _I can't go on..._ The memory was like a vice on his heart. "After the...situation with my father, I went there... Niira, you don't know what it's like." He had to choke back tears. "Not all of us were so lucky as to have fathers like yours."

"Coen..."

"I stood there one day and just wondered, how far is it to the bottom? If I was to jump, how long would it take? What if I landed in the river and not on the rocks? Would there be this pain after death?" He stopped there. _It was in the evening. The canyon's especially nice when the sun's setting._

After a few moments, Niira asked, "Why didn't you go through with it?"

"Radulf found me."

She was clinging to his arm, her head resting against his shoulder. He knew she was crying. He could feel her tears through his sleeve. But he made no move to comfort her. He couldn't. He couldn't comfort himself.

"I haven't been back there since then."

He heard her whimper once in her otherwise silent sobbing.

_Gods, I'm sorry Niira. I'm sorry I'm such a mess. You don't know what it was like after you disappeared._

"I'm very glad he found you," she said.

_There are some days where I wish he hadn't._

-----

Okay honestly, I don't know what's up with the past couple chapters being so depressing. I'll try not to make a habit of it.


	43. New Story

Huh. Five years ago. That's when I last updated this story. What a wild ride it's been. I'm slowly gearing up to start working on it again. However, I will no longer be updating this old story. I'm starting it over, and will be posting the new version as a new story here on ; it's still titled Daughter of the Wind, so it shouldn't be too hard to find. I will not delete this old story, so those of you who enjoy it can continue to read it. But if you want to read the new stuff, you'll have to go to the new story.

The basic plot and characters will remain the same. However, the story and writing will hopefully be brought up to par with my current work. Some things will be unchanged, while others may be completely reworked.

I hope to see you all at the new story! And as a teaser, here's the new prologue:

* * *

Half-asleep though he was, the young man could still hear someone pounding on the door to his parents' home next door. He tried to ignore it, but the pounding continued, an annoying thudding that seemed to bore into his head. Eventually, he sat up, blinking groggily.

His parents had finally woken as well. The pounding stopped, soon replaced by talking. "Where is she?" the young man could barely make out.

Grunting softly, he quietly crawled to his window and lifted the wood-and-leather covering just enough to peek outside. At this time of year, the moon set soon after nightfall, leaving the land dark until sunrise. But the young man could just make out the scene before him, dimly lit as it was by starlight. His father was standing just inside the doorway to his home, obviously irritated at having been called from sleep. Facing him, his back to the eavesdropping young man, was a warrior dressed in full gear, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Who?" his father was asking, a slight growl to his voice that indicated irritation, or the remnants of sleep, or both.

"Don't play dumb with me," the warrior replied. "Where is she?"

His father narrowed his eyes and motioned with one hand to someone in the house behind him, as if telling them to stay back. "I thought she was with you."

"Is she not with that idiot son of yours?"

The young man furrowed his brow at this slight of his character.

His father was likewise angered, and stepped out of his home, pulling the door covering into place behind him. "You come here in the middle of the night and wake my family just to insult us?"

The young man ducked back into his own home, debating if he should join his father as the arguing men's tempers flared and voices rose to near-shouts. Then a thought struck him. _'He hasn't seen her lately. I haven't, either. So where_ is _she?'_

He did leave his home them, though by a smaller exit in the back rather than the front door. Glancing behind himself to ensure that he hadn't been noticed by the other men-he hadn't been-he quickly and quietly jogged the short distance to the paddock. He easily swung himself over the fence and scanned the herd. A few nearby gryffs shuffled away from him in sleepy surprise, while one instead raised his head and hooted softly, as if in greeting.

He frowned. _'She left Kitty.'_ That could mean any number of things. The most likely of which, he thought, was that she didn't want anyone to know she had left. Seeing her mount missing from the herd was a sure giveaway that she was gone.

Even more to the point, he suddenly realized, was that she had left by herself during the darker phases of the moon. Gryffs could move in darkness, but they could not _become_ the darkness, as she could.

She had left without notice, and with the intent to stay unnoticed.

_'She's gone.'_ The young man could only stare dumbly across the fields. _'She's really gone this time.'_ And the warrior who had woken them was not happy about this.

Kitty had made his way over and bumped the curved edge of his beak against the young man's arm, begging for a treat. But the request was lost on the man, who could only think, _'This is not going to end well for anyone.'_ Then he looked down at the gryff and rubbed the beast on his forehead, earning him a contented purr. He smirked.

_'But I have a pretty good idea of where she's heading.'_


End file.
